ft,  Uj.iVL.y 


^ OQictti  * 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


% 


Purchased  by  the  Mary  Cheves  Dulles  Fund. 


Division 


Section 


£61 

,£59 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


COATLIQUE,  THE  AZTEC  WOMAN  GOO. 
(See  page  102.) 


Frontispiece. 


THE  SECRET  OF 
THE  PACIFIC 


A DISCUSSION  OF  THE  ORIGIN 
OF  THE  EARLY  CIVILISATIONS 
OF  AMERICA,  THE  TOLTECS, 
AZTECS,  MAYAS,  INCAS,  AND\$ 
THEIR  PREDECESSORS ; AND  OF 
THE  POSSIBILITIES  OF  ASIATIC 
INFLUENCE  THEREON 


BY 

c.  reginald'enock,  f.r.g.s. 

AUTHOR  OF  “THE  ANDES  AND  THE  AMAZON” 

“ MEXICO,”  “ PERU,”  “ FARTHEST  WEST  ” 

“AN  IMPERIAL  COMMONWEALTH,”  ETC. 


WITH  56  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  2 MAPS 


NEW  YORK  : CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 
LONDON:  T.  FISHER  UNWIN 
1912 


(All  rights  reserved.) 


PREFACE 


In  regarding  archaeology  some  curious  reflections 
may  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  student.  What  is 
the  true  age  of  man’s  stone-building  art?  We 
seem  to  find  overlapping  rather  than  evolutive 
stages  therein,  as  if  man  had  suddenly  learned 
to  build  pyramids  and  temples  from  some 
Instructor,  rather  than  by  the  process  of  evolu- 
tion. Again,  we  may  find  our  thoughts  inclining 
to  the  reflection  that  there  may  have  been 
long,  unknown  periods  or  cycles  of  civilisa- 
tion on  this  globe,  in  relation  to  which  the 
few  thousand  years  of  known  or  conjectured 
history  are  a mere  last  chapter.  We  might  be 
tempted  to  think  that  man,  as  we  know  him,  is 
the  remains  of  a more  perfect  civilisation,  or 
part  of  such  a cycle,  working  his  way  up  again, 
rather  than  being  a pioneer  of  the  race.  There 
is  no  unreason  in  such  a supposition.  We  are 
not  bound  to  accept  the  finality  of  evolution,  as 
at  present  conceived,  either  in  the  biological  or 
the  cultural  sphere  ; and,  indeed,  the  near  future 
may  bring  some  strong  modification  of  it. 

As  regards  the  world’s  very  ancient  ruins, 
shall  we  ever  discover  some  exact  mechanical 
process  for  determining  their  age?  Will  it  one 
day  be  possible  by  some  hitherto  unsuspected 
process  or  attribute  to  assign  the  number  of 


6 


PREFACE 


sunrises  or  earth -revolutions  and  sun -cycles  that 
have  passed  since  a given  wall  was  erected  or 
a given  stone  taken  from  its  quarry  bed?  May 
not  alternate  light  and  darkness  have  left  some 
calculable  impression  on  “ scarped  cliff  and 
quarried  stone  ” ? 

One  poignant  reflection  there  is  : that  man 
could  build  such  beautiful  dreams  in  sculptured 
stone  as  in  all  ages  he  has,  and  yet  be  so  bar- 
barous to  his  kind.  Temples  have  generally 
been  synonymous  with  cruelties  and  sacrifice. 
Furthermore,  Masonry,  whether  as  an  Art, 
whether  as  an  Order,  presents  itself  to  us 
mainly  as  a great  Pretension,  which  embodies 
little  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness,  but  which 
rather  separates  man  into  selfish  sects.  It  is 
after  the  lapse  of  time,  when  temples  and  palaces 
have  become  monuments,  that  we  revere  them — 
the  perpetuation  in  stone  of  sentiment  and  faith. 

As  to  the  problem  of  the  ancient  American 
civilisations,  it  is  an  old  one,  a mysterious  one, 
and  certainly  not  to  be  explained  with  ease,  either 
one  way  or  the  other.  There  are  many  factors 
to  be  taken  into  account  as  concerns  their  origin  ; 
and  even  to  connect  such  origin  with  some 
ancient  cycle  of  civilisation  or  lost  continent  is 
not  outside  the  field  of  admissible  conjecture  ; 
as  if  both  their  cultures  and  those  of  the  Old 
World  were  offshoots  of  some  parent  stock,  long 
since  buried  in  the  mists  of  age  and  change. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

PAGE 

WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET?  . . . . . 17 

Unknown  empires — The  lure  of  universalism — On  the 
trails  of  Cortes  and  Pizarro  — Arizona  and  the  Cliff 
Dwellers — The  wonderlands  of  Mexico  and  Peru — The 
“ Unknown  God  ” of  America — The  marvel  of  Easter 
Island — From  Peru  to  Egypt — From  Mexico  to  Asia — 
Biological  and  cultural  aspects — The  speechless  anthropoid 
— Man’s  ancestor  in  America — Across  Behring  Strait — 
Geographical  similarity  of  America  and  Asia — Man’s 
orginal  cradle-land — The  “ Stones  of  the  Sanctuary  ” — 

The  Aztecs  and  the  Incas — Chinese  origin  ? — Nothing  new 
under  the  sun. 


CHAPTER  II 


WHENCE  AND  HOW  . . . . . .32 

Asiatic  and  American  enigmas — The  fault  of  topography 
— Preservation  of  ruins — Wilful  destruction — Universal 
attributes  of  primitive  man — Evolution  of  the  pyramid — 

Stout  denials  of  connection — Indigenous  culture — Wide- 
spread cradle-lands — From  China  to  Peru — The  theory  of 
imported  origin — Opinion  of  Humboldt — Analogies  with 
Egypt — Yucatan  and  Ceylon — Central  America  and  Java 
— The  Maya  Arch — No  real  arch  in  America — The  “lost 
ten  tribes" — Lord  Kingsborough’s  work  — Mexico  the 
origin  of  Egyptian  art  ? — Across  Behring  Straits — Junks 
from  China  and  Japan — Kublai  Khan — Personal  im- 
pressions— The  Asiatic  Eskimo — Polynesian  influence — 
Easter  Island — Yucatan  as  the  lost  Atlantis — Similarities 
of  art — Evolution  of  Aztec  and  Inca  art — The  universal 
Sun  God. 


7 


8 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  III 

PAGE 

THE  TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  . . . *49 

A few  points  of  geography — Coast  of  North  and  South 
America — The  great  Cordillera — Ice  and  fire— Comparison 
with  Bible  lands — Seats  of  the  ancient  civilisations — Vast 
distances  in  prehistoric  America — Arizona  and  California — 
Mexico,  its  people  and  railways — The  republics  of  Central 
America — Good  and  bad  qualities — Panama — Colombia 
and  Ecuador — Peru,  its  people  and  mountains — Varied 
national  traits — Chile  and  the  Trans-Andine  railway — 
Mongolian  immigration  in  South  America — A brief  survey 
of  the  ancient  ruins — Hints  to  travellers — Climate  and 
equipment. 


CHAPTER  IV 

NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  . . . .65 

The  Eskimos — An  important  region — Behring  Sea  culture- 
area — A link  between  Asia  and  America — Language — Art 
— Mongol  origin — Boats  and  navigation — The  Aleutians — 
Customs  and  religions  of  the  Eskimos — The  road  from 
Asia — Siberia — Neolithic  man — The  Hydah  Indians — The 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway — Bancroft’s  description — 
Hydah  carvings — Totem  poles — Canoes — Inter-continental 
navigation — The  Nootkas — Native  customs — The  Apaches 
— California  to-day  — Behring  Strait  — The  “ Miocene 
Bridge” — Other  early  land  connections  with  America — 
Passing  reflections. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS  . . . . -79 

Western  America — Colorado,  Utah,  and  Arizona — Cali- 
fornia— The  great  American  desert — The  Rocky  Mountains 
— Old  and  new  civilisations — The  Puye  ruins — Mesa  Verde 
National  Park — Remarkable  structures — Unique  situations 
— Subterranean  chambers — Cliff  temples  and  palaces — 
Connection  with  the  Aztecs — Creation  legends — Native 
story  of  evolution — The  Pueblos — Pueblo  pottery — Prayers 
for  rain — Delta  lands — Prehistoric  irrigation  channels — 

The  Swastika  in  America — Casas  Grandes — Frontier  with 
Mexico. 


CONTENTS 


9 


CHAPTER  VI 

PAGE 

EARLY  MEXICO — TOLTECS  AND  AZTECS  . . -93 

Character  of  early  Mexico — Bloodthirsty  religion — The 
problem  of  its  origin — The  Toltecs — Picture-writing — 

Early  history — Mexican  mural  remains — The  Teocallis 
— Stone  of  Sacrifice — Awful  women-goddesses — Analogy 
with  Babylon — Pyramids  of  the  sun  and  the  moon — 
Teotihuacan  — Pottery  and  acoustics  — Other  pyramids 
— Cholula  and  Papantla  — Remarkable  structures  of 
Monte  Alban — The  Zapotecs — Sculptured  halls  of  Mitla — 

Ruins  in  Guerrero  and  Tehuantepec — Unexplored 
territory — The  dawn  of  a literature — Mexican  calendar — 

Aztec  religion — The  prayer  of  Nezahualcoyotl  to  the 
Creator,  the  “Unknown  God.” 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  . . . . . Il8 

The  civilisation  of  the  Mayas — Yucatan  and  Chiapas — 

Age  of  Maya  culture — Arrival  of  Cortes — Types  of  archi- 
tecture— Pyramids  and  galleries — The  magnificence  of 
Palenque — The  beau-relief — Temples  and  crosses — The 
cross  in  prehistoric  America  — Yucatan  millionaires — 
Henequen  and  oppression — Rubber  and  slavery — Ruins  of 
Uxmal — The  Maya  Arch — Astonishing  architectural  forms 
— Chac-mol  figures — Egypt  and  Mexico — Le  Plongeon’s 
theories — The  mastodon  in  stone — Prehistoric  hydraulics 
— The  famous  Cenotes — Sacrifices  of  virgins — Yucatan  and 
the  Ganges. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  ....  I40 

Guatemala  — British  Honduras  — Honduras  — Salvador 
— Nicaragua — Costa  Rica — Difficult  topography — Pilpil 
civilisation — Migration  from  Mexico  to  Central  America — 
Ancient  sculptures  and  reliefs — Farthest  limit  of  Maya 
culture — Chac-mol  sculpture — Ruins  of  Quirigua — Beau- 
tiful stelae — Ancient  city — Terraces  and  plazas — Huge 
carved  stones  — Hieroglyphs — The  “Greek"  pattern — 

Santa  Lucia  Cozumahualpa — Numerous  ruins — Expedition 
of  Cortes — Three  pyramids — The  Quiches — The  famous 
Popol  Vuh — Story  of  the  Creation  and  the  Deluge  in 


10 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


prehistoric  America — Ruins  of  Copan — Pyramids,  ram- 
parts, and  terraces — Metal-craft  of  Chiriqui — Reading  the 
hieroglyphs  — Junction  between  Mayas  and  Incas  — 
Ecuador  and  Columbia — Mysterious  conquerors. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  INCAS — CHILDREN  OF  THE  SUN  . . . 155 

The  fascination  of  Peru — Means  of  travel— Some  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world — Remarkable  building  sites — Topo- 
graphical situations — Climatic  influences — The  coast  zone 
— The  Incas  and  the  pre- Incas — The  Andes — Extent  of 
I nca  Empire — The  Quechua  language — Relative  ages — The 
Son  of  the  Sun — A "virgin  birth” — Duration  of  Inca 
Empire — The  famous  royal  roads — Lake  Titicaca — The 
ruins  at  Cuzco — The  “ navel  ” of  the  empire — Sacsaihua- 
man — Inca  stone  masonry — Fortress  of  Ollantaytambo — 
Intihuana  and  Pisac — Astronomical  pillars — The  throne  of 
the  sun — The  Amazon  forest — Unfathomable  Tiahuanako 
— Transport  of  monoliths — The  “Unknown  God  ” — Prayer 
to  the  Creator. 


CHAPTER  X 

PERU — THE  LAND  OF  ENIGMAS  ....  175 

Northern  Peru — Quito — Huaraz  and  Cajamarca — Pre-Inca 
remains — The  Upper  Maranon — Castle  of  Chavin — Sub- 
terranean chambers  and  monoliths — The  Gentiles — The 
ancient  fortresses — The  Andenes — Former  population — 
Ruins  of  Huanuco  Viejo — Beautiful  stone  doorways — The 
Inca  palace  and  fortress — Ancient  town — Analogy  with 
Egyptian  structure  ? — Cliff-towers  and  graves — Caves  and 
mummy-cellars — The  ancient  ruins  of  the  coast  region — 
Pachacamac — The  only  example  of  columns — The  Chimus 
and  ruins  of  Chan  Chan — Incas  and  pre-Incas — Copper 
tools  — Roofs  — Embalming  the  dead  — The  Huacas  — 
Mummy-hunting — Peruvian  pottery  seven  thousand  years 
oldl? — Beautiful  ceramic  art — Asiatic  origin  ? — Mongolian 
ancestors  — Analogies  with  China  — Mysterious  unread 
hieroglyphs. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  .....  195 

A remarkable  social  system  — The  Inca  land  laws  — 

" Superior  to  all  Christian  nations  ” — Small  holdings  in 


CONTENTS 


11 


PAGE 

early  Peru — The  land  for  the  (prehistoric)  people  ! — No 
beggary  permitted  — Common  ownership  of  natural 
resources — The  guano — Public  water-rights — No  mono- 
polies allowed — Inca  hydraulics — Wonderful  irrigation 
system  — The  Andenes — Socialistic  agriculture  — Neigh- 
bourly assistance — No  Tammanyism  ! — Help  for  widows 
— Tax  payments  in  goods  and  labour — Boots  instead  of 
rates — Hallelujah — Public  granaries — Precautions  against 
famine — Corn  reserves — Scientific  colonisation — The  fall 
of  the  Inca  Socialism — Hints  for  Britain. 


CHAPTER  XII 

COMPARISONS  AND  CONTRADICTIONS  . . . 207 

From  Asia  to  America? — No  iron  or  vehicles — Stone 
tools  in  early  American  art — Remarkable  stone-shaping 
methods  — Indefatigable  architects  — Massive  work  — 
General  characteristics — Moving  the  monoliths — Work  on 
the  high  plateaux — Engineering  knowledge  in  prehistoric 
America — The  Pueblo  ruins — Early  explorers — Age  of  the 
Mexican  and  Peruvian  ruins — No  origin  from  Asia  ? — 
Cord-holders  in  masonry — Native  gallows — Similarity  of 
ground  plans — Peru  and  Mexico  compared — Columns  in 
early  architecture  — The  potter’s  wheel  non-existent  — 
Beautiful  textile  work — Native  dyes — Killing  home  in- 
dustries — Prehistoric  metallurgy  — Jewel-craft  — Ore- 
smelting  at  Potosi  — Admirable  goldsmith’s  work  — 
Abundance  of  gold — Spurious  antiquities — Methods  of 
historical  record — Hieroglyphs  and  the  quipos — Analogies 
with  China,  Tibet,  and  Tahiti. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  .....  230 

Further  evidence — Linguistic  affinities — Analogies  of  signs 
and  symbols,  handicrafts  and  myths — Imported  or  in- 
digenous ? — Mongolian  affinities  — The  Eskimos  — Great 
variety  of  habitat — Mixed  Spanish  blood — Resemblance  of 
Mexicans  and  Peruvians  to  Japanese — The  Chinaman  at 
home  in  Peru — Language  offers  no  proof — Chinese  and 
Otomi — Possible  prehistoric  immigration  from  Asia — 
Kublai  Khan  — Affirmative  facts  — Humboldt  and  the 
Mexican  and  Asiatic  calendars  — Babylonian  - Greek 


12 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


\ 


imitation — Similarities  in  ornament — The  “Greek”  orna- 
ment universal — The  “lost  ten  tribes” — The  Swastika; 
widespread  occurrence — Oriental  symbols — The  cross  in 
prehistoric  America — The  four  ages  of  the  world  in  Asia 
and  Peru  — Mesopotamia  and  Peruvian  river-craft  — 
Rameses  III.  and  Lake  Titicaca. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN.  ....  257 

A speculative  voyage — Stepping-stones  to  Asia — Easter 
Island  and  others — Great  stone  images — The  “ wicked 
giants”  of  Genesis — Possible  connection  between  Peru 
and  Mexico — With  Polynesia — Great  stone  houses — The 
Archaic  Noah — Size  of  the  Colossi  — Other  remains — 
Tablets  and  hieroglyphs — Analogy  with  Tiahuanako  in 
Bolivia — Are  they  phallic  emblems  ? — Log  of  the  Flora — 
Dimensions  of  the  images. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  ....  267 

Strange  migrations — The  Polynesians  and  others — The 
Papuans  and  Malaysians — Mystery  of  their  origin — The 
Caucasians — Origin  of  the  Polynesians — Clever  navigators 
— Original  home — Long  sea  journeys — Polynesian  ship- 
builders — Mythology  — Decline  — Character  — Pitcairn 
Island — Tahiti  — The  Marquesas  — Affinity  with  early 
America — Stone  images — Stone  platforms — Art — Tonga 
Islands — Megalithic  remains — Caroline  Islands — Lele  and 
Ponape — Astonishing  prehistoric  structures — Metalanim 
— A Pacific  Venice — Yap  and  other  remains — Great  basalt 
prisms — Metalanim  harbour — Lele  — The  breakwater — 

The  Marianas — Stone  structures. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  LOST  CONTINENT  .....  29 2 

A Pacific  Atlantis — India  and  Java — Early  Malaysians 
— Early  Polynesians — Strange  voyages — Connection  with 
Peru  and  Mexico — Timor — Delhi — Tasmania — The  Malay 
Archipelago — “ Out  of  the  sea  ” — A wide-scattered  people 
— Malay  sailors — Hindu  ruinsin  Java — Boro  Budor — Indian 


CONTENTS 


13 


PAGE 

influence — Angkor  Thom — The  Khmers  of  Cambodia — 
Astonishing  ancient  temple  and  ruins — Brama  faces — The 
Ainos  of  Japan — The  hot-pot  of  Asia — The  Mongolian  in 
America — Kublai  Khan — Mongolia — Tibet  and  Peru— The 
Veddahs  of  Ceylon  — Australia’s  part  in  the  secret  — 
Caucasian  fragments — Mankind’s  vast  antiquity — Ancient 
land  connections — Elevation  and  subsidences  of  Pacific 
shores  — Japan  — The  Andes  — Markham’s  theory — The 
Funafuti  borings — Darwin  and  Murray  — The  “subsi- 
dence ” theory — The  new  Stone  Age — The  inexplicable 
problem. 


, CHAPTER  XVII 

WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  .....  315 

The  voice  of  mythology — A new  science  — Analogous 
romances — The  psalms  of  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians — 

The  Creation  myth  of  the  Hydahs — The  “ redeemer  ” of 
the  Nootkas — The  copper  canoe — Emblems  of  the  Sun 
God — Flood  story  of  the  Okanagans — Scomalt — Deluge 
story  of  the  Melanesians — Qat  the  hero — Prayer  of  the 
voyager — General  belief  in  a Supreme  Being — Sun-worship 
— Roman  Catholic  mythology — Aboriginal  belief  in  immor- 
tality — Curious  customs — The  couvarde  — Phallism  — 
“Indecent”  Inca  images — Singular  custom  in  Peru — 
Scarab-worship  of  the  South  American  Chaco — Native 
veracity — Travellers’  veracity — Missionaries’  good  faith — 
Flood  stories— The  Book  of  Enoch  and  the  Deluge — 
Theosophy  and  the  Central  American  ruins. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY  .....  343 

Anthropoid  to  architect — Necessity  for  more  research — 

A many-sided  subject — More  light  required — What  is  our 
foundation  ? — Teachings  of  archaeology — History  repeats 
itself — A dim  and  distant  stage — Retrospect  of  human 
movements — The  great  antiquity  of  mankind — An  endless 
argument  — The  “ All-Father  ” — A universal  culture  in 
remote  times — Babel  and  the  Flood — A golden  age — A 
Universal  Texture. 


INDEX 


• 355 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

COATLIQUE,  THE  AZTEC  WOMAN  GOD  . . Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

RUINS  OF  CHICHEN  ITZA,  “ THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  NUNS,” 

YUCATAN  . . . . . -34 

RUINS  OF  MITLA,  SOUTHERN  MEXICO  . . *38 

RUINS  OF  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA.  STELA  WITH  HIERO- 
GLYPHICS . . . . . .46 

LAKE  TITICACA,  SOUTHERN  PERU  . . . . 58 

THE  “SEAT  OF  THE  INCA,”  PERU  . . .64 

A TOTEM  POLE,  NORTH-WEST  BRITISH  COLUMBIA  . J2 

INDIANS  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND  . . . . 76 

RUINS  OF  THE  CLIFF-DWELLERS  : CLIFF  PALACE  . 83 

RUINS  OF  THE  CLIFF-DWELLERS,  AND  POTTERY  . . 90 

TOLTEC  PYRAMID  OF  THE  SUN  AT  TEOTIHUACAN  . 96 

THE  AZTEC  STONE  OF  SACRIFICE  ....  IO3 

OMECIHUATL,  MEXICAN  WOMAN  GOD  . . . 105 

RUINS  OF  MITLA,  HALL  OF  THE  “ GRECQUES,”  SOUTHERN 

MEXICO  ......  108 

RUINS  OF  MITLA,  HALL  OF  THE  COLUMNS  . . IIO 

THE  AZTEC  CALENDAR  STONE  . . . . II3 

MEXICAN  PICTURE-WRITING  . . . . 115 

14 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


15 


PYRAMID  TEMPLE  AT  CHICHEN  ITZA,  YUCATAN  . 
FIGURE  DISCOVERED  AT  CHICHEN  ITZA,  YUCATAN 
THE  MAYA  “ ARCH  ” .... 

RUINS  OF  CHICHEN  ITZA  .... 
RUINS  OF  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA,  STELA  . 

CARVED  STONE  AT  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA 
BAS-RELIEF  FROM  QUIRIGUA 
INCA  FORTRESS  AT  OLLANTAYTAMBO,  PERU 
TYPES  OF  QUECHUA  NATIVES,  NEAR  CUZCO,  PERU 
AN  INCA  STREET  AT  CUZCO 

TYPES  OF  NATIVE  WOMEN  AT  TIAHUANACO,  BOLIVIA 
RUINS  OF  INTIHUATANA  AND  PISAC,  PERU 
MONOLITHIC  DOORWAY  OF  TIAHUANACO,  BOLIVIA 
RUINS  OF  TIAHUANACO,  BOLIVIA  . 

MONOLITHIC  FIGURE  AT  TIAHUANACO,  BOLIVIA  . 
RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO,  PERU.  INCA  PALACE 
BAS-RELIEF  FROM  CHAVIN,  PERU  . 


RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO.  DOORWAY 
PALACE,  PERU 

RUINS  OF  INCAHUASI 

RUINS  OF  CHAN  CHAN,  COAST  OF  PERU 
POTTERY  FROM  PRE-INCA  TOMB,  PERU 
DITTO  .... 

DITTO  .... 

RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO,  PERU  . 


TO  THE  INCA 


PAGE 

122 

126 

I29 

136 

I42 

I48 

152 

156 

l6o 

164 

l66 

168 

170 

172 

174 

176 

178 

182 

186 

187 

I90 

I94 

I98 

29O 


16 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PAGE 

RUINS  OF  MITLA,  SOUTHERN  MEXICO  . . . 210 

RUINS  OF  CHICHEN  ITZA,  YUCATAN  . . . 214 

CORD-HOLDERS  IN  MASONRY  ....  217 

PRE-INCA  POTTERY  FROM  PERU  . * . . . 2l8 

AZTEC  SCULPTURED  TIGER,  MEXICO  . . . 222 

RUINS  OF  MITLA,  FACADE  OF  THE  HALL  OF  THE 

COLUMNS,  MEXICO  .....  228 

INCA  FORTRESS  OF  OLLANTAYTAMBO,  PERU  . . 234 

COLOSSAL  CARVED  HEAD  FROM  MEXICO  . . . 240 

EXAMPLES  OF  THE  “ GREEK  ” PATTERN  . . . 245 

EASTER  ISLAND  STATUES  .....  258 

DITTO  . . .....  260 

DITTO  .......  262 

DITTO  .......  264 

PLAN  OF  THE  “ PACIFIC  VENICE  ”...  287 

MAPS 

MAP  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN  AND  COASTS  . . 48 

MAP  OF  CENTRAL  AMERICA  . . . . Il8 


Acknowledgment  is  here  made  to  the  following  sources  for  some 
of  the  illustrations  in  this  book  : the  Mexican  Legation ; National 
Geographic  Magazine,  Washington  ; the  Illustrated  London  News;  the 
London  Magazine ; Bulletin  of  the  Pan-American  Union;  “Ancient 
Ruins  of  the  South-West”  (Hewett). 


The  Secret  of  the  Pacific 

CHAPTER  I 

WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 

Unknown  empires — The  lure  of  universalism — On  the  trails 
of  Cortes  and  Pizarro — Arizona  and  the  Cliff  Dwellers — 
The  wonderlands  of  Mexico  and  Peru — The  “ Unknown 
God”  of  America— The  marvel  of  Easter  Island — From 
Peru  to  Egypt — From  Mexico  to  Asia — Biological  and 
cultural  aspects — The  speechless  anthropoid — Man’s 
ancestor  in  America — Across  Behring  Strait — Geo- 
graphical similarity  of  America  and  Asia — Man’s  original 
cradle-land  — The  “ Stones  of  the  Sanctuary  ” — The 
Aztecs  and  the  Incas — Chinese  origin  ? — Nothing  new 
under  the  sun. 

What  do  we  mean  by  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific? 

Set  between  the  world’s  mightiest  oceans,  the 
Pacific  and  the  Atlantic,  lies  that  greatest  of  all 
islands— the  twin-continents  of  America.  A great 
mystery  still  shrouds  these  twin -continents,  a 
riddle  still  unread,  for  whose  solution  the  world 
may  be  said  to  have  waited  four  hundred  years. 
What  is  this  mystery? 


2 


17 


18  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


History  would  have  us  believe  that  these  great 
seas  had  roared  defiant,  uncrossed  by  man — with 
the  exception,  grudgingly  admitted,  of  some 
shadowy  Northmen  from  Europe  in  983 — until 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  A.D.,  and  that 
these  great  continents,  until  then,  had  been  un- 
visited from  the  outside  world  since  time  began. 
Yet,  scattered  for  thousands  of  miles  throughout 
the  forests  and  deserts  of  these  twin -continents 
are  the  remains  of  civilised  empires  which  once 
flourished  there : the  ruined  temples,  palaces, 
pyramids,  and  habitations  of  peoples  and  nations 
who  arose,  fell,  and  rose  again,  ages  before  the 
caravels  of  the  Vikings  and  the  Conquistadores 
turned  their  prows  towards  the  setting  sun. 

•What  I have  ventured  to  term  the  Secret  qf 
the  Pacific  is  the  mystery  surrounding  the  ancient 
civilisations  of  the  three  Americas,  the  homes  of 
the  Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  the  Mayas,  the  Incas, 
and  their  predecessors.  What  was  their  origin? 
What  was  their  connection  with  each  other  ? Had 
they  any  link  with  the  Old  World?  Did  they 
in  olden  times,  draw  inspiration  and  knowledge 
from  Asia,  Egypt,  Babylon  ? If  not,  and  they 
sprang  unaided  from  their  own  soil,  and  created 
their  own  culture,  what  were  the  conditions  of 
their  independent  development? 

These,  of  course,  are  not  new  questions.  In- 
deed, they  are  well  worn,  and  scientific  dogma 
and  sentimental  discussion  have  long  centred 
about  them— opinions  and  theories,  however, 
which  are  widely  scattered,  or  contained  in 
erudite  and  inaccessible  tomes,  out  of  reach  of 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


19 


the  general  reader,  for  whom  the  present  work 
is  intended. 

It  is  not,  however,  a journey  through  library 
shelves  alone  that  we  shall  undertake  here,  but 
an  actual  traverse,  at  least  in  part,  of  North  and 
South  America  : those  great  regions  forming  the 
Western  world  which  we  erroneously  term 
“ New  ” — the  ancient  world  of  America  before 
Columbus.  Upon  the  trails  of  Cortes  and 
of  Pizarro  my  travels  have  taken  me ; trails 
which  in  some  cases  are  almost  as  remote  and 
difficult  to-day  as  they  were  when  first  traversed 
by  the  white  man  from  Europe,  and  the  horse 
first  ascended  the  Andes.  We  shall  follow  those 
paths,  but  to  such  journeyings  we  must  add  other 
incursions  through  space  and  time,  both  real  and 
conjectural,  which  will  take  us  from  Mexico  to 
Egypt,  from  Peru  to  Babylon,  from  the  American 
shores  to  the  strange  islands  of  Polynesia.  From 
those  broad  regions  where  the  Toltec,  the  Aztec, 
and  the  Inca  flourished  we  must  seek  to  gather 
up  those  threads  which  some  have  conjectured 
lead  to  Asia  ; which,  could  we  but  unravel  them, 
might  establish  some  co-relation  of  man  and 
his  arts  between  Asia  and  America,  and,  that 
said,  of  man  throughout  the  world.  It  is  an 
alluring  theme,  but  we  shall  embark  upon  it 
with  an  open  mind'.  It  is  not  our  purpose 
to  establish  new  theories,  but  rather  to  inquire 
into  the  case,  to  observe  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  its  solution,  and  what  remains  to 
be  done. 

What  are  the  monuments  left  by  these  ancient 


20  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


people,  and  what  are  the  evidences  of  their  civi- 
lisations? For  four  thousand  miles  or  more  they 
lie  upon  the  Western  American  littoral  and  Cor- 
dilleras, and  seem  to  extend  in  isolated  patches 
across  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  a north-west  path 
to  Asia,  like  vast  stepping-stones  between  the  Old 
World  and  the  New.  In  the  rocky,  ravines  and 
scorching  mesas  of  Arizona  and  Colorado,  wilder- 
nesses whose  trails  were  first  mapped  out  by  the 
bones  of  hardy  explorers,  are  the  extraordinary 
habitations  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers.  On  the  high 
slopes  and  tablelands  of  Mexico  are  strange 
pyramids  and  mysterious  courts  and  quadrangles, 
with  carved  stone  halls  about  them,  a puzzle  to 
the  beholder.  In  the  dense,  tropic  forests  of 
Yucatan  are  the  sculptured  fagades  of  palaces 
and  pyramid-temples  of  exceeding  beauty  and 
ingenuity,  ruined  and  abandoned,  or  surrounded 
here  and  there  by  the  wattle  huts  of  half-savage 
Indians.  In  Central  America  sculptured  stelae 
of  great  beauty  and  peculiarity  protrude 
strangely  from  the  jungle,  whilst  far  away 
below  the  Equator,  along  the  scorching  coast- 
line of  Peru  and  amid  the  bleak  tablelands  and 
snow-crowned  ranges  of  the  Andes,  are  cun- 
ningly-wrought temples  and  impregnable  for- 
tresses, which  could  only  have  been  fashioned 
under  the  mandates  of  ruthless,  new-world 
Pharaohs  or  devout  American  Solomons.  In 
the  Mexican  deserts  and  by  the  waters  of  the 
mysterious  Lake  Titicaca  of  the  Incas,  the  Sun 
God  and  the  Moon  God  held  sway,  and  from 
unnumbered  centuries  ago  ancient  worshippers 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


21 


raised  great  temples  to  the  “ Unknown  God.” 
Deepening  the  mystery  still,  there  arise,  strange 
and  grim  upon  solitary,  sea-girt  Pacific  islands 
in  the  track  of  the  setting  sun,  colossal  images 
and  fortresses,  whose  origin  no  man  can  conjec- 
ture. Here,  in  brief,  are  the  chapters,  written 
in  stone,  of  some  great  and  perhaps  universal 
history — a history  which,  so  far,  we  have  not 
been  able  to  inscribe  in  the  general  plan  of 
human  record. 

This,  then,  is  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific.  What 
was  the  origin  of  the  people  who  fashioned  these 
structures  and  planted  the  civilisations  of  early 
America?  Did  they  simply  spring  from  the  soil 
of  the  New  World,  independent  of  outside  influ- 
ence, and  evolve  their  arts  upon  it  ? Or  were  they 
and  the  germs  of  their  art  carried  thither  in  dim 
ages  past?  Was  it  some  prehistoric  migration 
of  intrepid  or  persecuted  man,  who  from  some 
Asiatic  cradle-land  made  his  way  across  endless 
steppes  and  boundless  seas,  bearing  in  his  breast 
the  germs  of  civilisation  and  the  stone-shaping 
arts  that  first  tenanted  these  wilds  of  the  three 
Americas  ? Were  they  pioneer  offshoots  of  some 
Eastern  potentate’s  magnificences — some  ambi- 
tious priests  or  would-be  kings,  envious  of  the 
power  that  built  pyramids  and  palaces  under 
Oriental  skies,  who  privily  adventured  forth  to 
seek  a dominion  where  they  themselves  might 
be  paramount?  Did  they,  from  their  erring 
memories,  or  the  skill  of  craftsmen  they  had 
lured  with  them,  build  up  these  replicas  of  pyra- 
mids and  palaces  and  towers  of  Babel  amid  the 


22  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


deserts  and  mountains  of  a new  land?  Were 
they  and  their  works  part  of  the  scheme  of  man 
and  history  of  which  ancient  Assyria  and  Egypt 
were  the  earlier  chapters  ? 

If  they  were  we  shall  be  forced  to  reflect  that 
they  covered  up  their  trails  remarkably  well,  and 
supposing  that  to  be  true,  it  is  indeed  a case  for 
some  antiquarian  sleuth-hound,  some  archaeo- 
logical Sherlock  Holmes  ! If  they  were  not  and 
we  are  to  consider  them  as  an  indigenous,  autoch- 
thonous manifestation  of  the  works  of  Nature  and 
Providence  in  a special  hemisphere,  there  still 
remains  the  contemplation  of  very  remote  times 
in  which  their  arts  were  evolved — times  which 
could  scarcely  have  been  less  remote  than  those 
which  were  necessary  for  the  development  of 
man’s  handicraft  in  the  lands  of  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Nile. 

Both  theories,  the  imported  and  the  autoch- 
thonous, possess  attractions.  To  regard  mankind 
as  coming  from  a common  source  and  central 
point  and  having  spread  over  the  face  of  the 
earth,  rather  than  having  been  generated  at 
several  points  simultaneously,  carries  with  it  a 
certain  sense  of  satisfaction.  It  seems  to  give 
man  a greater  standing  to  suppose  that  the  Divine 
spark  of  his  origin  was  engendered  in  one  place 
only, and  upon  a “special  occasion,”  rather  than, 
like  trees  or  animals,  to  have  come  to  being  in 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth  profusely  and  in- 
dependently. The  natural  tendency  to  trace  man, 
wherever  he  may  be  found,  to  a common  origin 
is,  popularly,  very  strong.  Although  we  might 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


23 


maintain  that  the  biblical  account  of  man’s  origin, 
assigning  a definite  point  in  time  and  space  to 
his  appearance,  might  be  given  a wide  interpre- 
tation, nevertheless  it  is  something  of  a shock 
that  we  experience  in  the  possibility  of  man’s 
appearance  as  scattered  and  independent  races, 
and  not  as  a special  being  derived  from  one 
spot. 

But  if  on  the  one  hand  we  love  to  trace  man- 
kind to  this  common  origin,  the  other  contention 
of  independent  generation  is  not  without  certain 
allurements  and  compensating  circumstances. 
There  is  much  in  the  idea,  to  the  philosophical 
mind,  that  Nature,  having  reached  a certain  point 
in  her  workings  when  it  was  time  for  man  to 
appear,  brought  him  to  being  simultaneously  in 
several  parts  of  the  world.  Nature  might  be 
regarded  as  having  been  pregnant  with  the 
coming  of  man,  and  as  giving  birth  to  him  in  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America  simultaneously.  The  time 
had  arrived  for  man  to  inherit  the  environment 
which — man  feels  he  may  assume  it  as  true — had 
been  prepared  for  him,  and  this  appearance  may 
not  necessarily  have  been  confined  to  a garden 
by  the  Euphrates  alone. 

It  is  to  be  recollected,  and  the  reflection  is  an 
interesting  one,  that  the  “ new  ” world  of 
America  is  in  many  respects  a replica  of  the 
“ old  ” world  of  Eurasia,  or  Europe-Asia,  “ with 
the  corresponding  parts  reversed,  right  and  left, 
like  two  hands  ” as  it  has  been  said  by  geo- 
graphers. The  regions  of  the  lakes,  the  moun- 
tain chains,  highlands  and  lowlands,  have  or  have 


24  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


had  their  counterparts  in  both  worlds,  and  with 
their  geographical  resemblances  and  similar  geo- 
logical ages  and  formations  form  truly  remark- 
able likenesses  of  each  other.  At  the  time  when 
geological  knowledge  was  less  advanced  than  it 
is  to-day  the  idea  was  prevalent  that  the  new 
world  of  America  was  an  “ old  world  ” geologi- 
cally, and  the  old  world  of  history  a “ new  world  ” 
geologically.  In  reality  both  worlds  are  old 
geologically,  or  at  least,  in  general  terms  neither 
can  regard  the  other  as  its  senior.  They  were 
both  equally  ready  for  human  life,  and  in 
both  have  men  had  equally  to  struggle  to 
support  it. 

There  are,  of  course,  two  considerations  to 
be  faced  in  this  contemplation  of  man’s  presence 
in  the  New  World — one  biological,  the  other 
cultural.  That  is  to  say,  was  man  as  a being 
indigenous  to  America,  and  was  his  prehistoric 
civilisation  indigenous,  or  were  both  conditions 
imported  ones  ? It  is  the  opinion  among  ethnolo- 
gists that  the  same  inherent  mental  nature  is 
to  be  recognised  in  all  men,  and  that  when  we 
compare  this  fact  with  our  knowledge  about  the 
doings  and  thinkings,  learned,  by  scientific  obser- 
vation, of  all  the  races  of  people  on  the  earth, 
we  are  entitled  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  all 
human  races  are  of  one  species  and  one  family. 
It  is  held  generally  that  the  stock  races  of 
America  must  have  descended  from  this  one 
family,  because  there  are  no  anthropoid  apes  in 
America,  none  of  the  ape  family  higher  than  the 
Cebidse,  from  which  it  is  impossible  to  trace  man. 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


25 


As  for  Australia  there  are  not  even  Cebidae  in 
that  continent. 

The  anthropoid  apes,  it  will  be  well  to  recollect 
— the  man-like  apes  found  only  in  the  Old 
World  (although  even  this  has  been  disputed) — 
are  of  special  interest  to  those  who  accept  the 
“Darwinian”  theories,  due  to  the  place  in  Nature 
assigned  to  them  by  the  evolutionists. 

Whilst  it  is  generally  admitted  now  “ that  no 
fundamental  difference  as  regards  anatomical 
structure  exists  between  these  higher  apes  and 
man,  it  is  equally  true  that  none  of  this  species 
is  in  the  direct  line  of  human  ancestry.  There  is 
a vast  gulf  to  be  spanned  between  these  man- 
like apes  and  even  the  very  lowest  race  of  man- 
kind, by  some  4 missing  link.’  Such  a link, 
indeed,  in  the  form  of  a creature  reconstructed 
from  the  fossil  remains  of  an  erect  ape-man 
found  in  the  forests  of  Java — the  famous  Pitecan- 
thorpus  erectus  of  Dr.  Dubois — is  believed  in 
by  some.”  Into  this  field,  however,  we  shall  not 
intrude  much  here. 

It  is,  therefore,  generally  recognised  as  a 
scientific  fact  that  mankind  is  specifically  of  one 
family,  and  in  such  case  it  is  to  be  argued  that 
he  must  have  had  an  original  “ cradle-land,” 
from  which  the  peopling  of  the  earth  was  brought 
about  by  migration.  Where  was  this  cradle- 
land?  The  evidence  seems  to  show  that,  first 
of  all,  the  world  “ was  peopled  by  a general 
proto-human  ” form  and  each  division  of  man 
would  thus  have  had  its  pleistocene  ancestors, 
and  would  have  become  differentiated  into  races 


26  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


by  the  influence  of  climatic  and  other  surround- 
ings. As  to  the  cradle-land,  there  have  been 
many  theories,  generally  inclining  towards  the 
strange  region  of  Indo-Malaysia,  into  which  it 
will  be  also  our  business  to  enter  in  this  volume. 

But  how  could  this  migration  from  a remote 
cradle-land  in  the  old  world  have  taken  place 
into  the  new  world  of  America,  which  is  an 
island  ? Geology  has  been  able  to  show  the  exist- 
ence of  earlier  continents  or  pre-arrangements 
of  continents  ; that  the  earth’s  crust  has  under- 
gone great  changes.  Complete  land  communica- 
tion, it  is  held,  existed  from  Indo-Malaysia.  An 
Indo-African  and  a Eurafrican  continent  are 
shown  to  have  existed  and  the  extension  of  Aus- 
tralia towards  New  Guinea  formerly  is  held  to 
be  probable,  and  thus  “ man’s  ancestor  was  free 
to  move  in  all  directions  over  the  Eastern  Hemi- 
sphere.” As  for  the  Western  Hemisphere,  this 
was  probably  connected  with  Europe  and  Asia,  in 
Tertiary  times,  geology  assumes,  by  a continent 
in  the  one  case  from  Scotland  through  the 
Faeroes,  Iceland,  and  Greenland,  and  in  the  other 
by  continuous  land,  over  what  is  now  Behring 
Straits,  just  as  South  America  may  have  been 
connected  with  Australia  by  a Pacific  continent 
and  with  Africa  by  an  Atlantic  continent. 

Are  we  to  suppose,  then,  that  the  only  contact 
between  the  beings  of  the  Old  World  and  the 
New  was  in  those  remote  times  before  man  was 
really  man,  when  he  was  still  little  removed  from 
the  brute  and  had  not  yet  been  made  white, 
brown,  or  black,  such  as  his  climatic  environment 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


27 


assigned  to  him  ? This  would  not  greatly  help  us 
in  the  solution  of  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific,  and 
we  must  inquire  more  closely  of  the  possibilities 
of  prehistoric  immigration.  It  may  be  assumed 
on  the  one  hand  that  in  some  far  distant  epoch 
a speechless  anthropoid  passed  over  a land  bridge 
between  Asia  and  America  where  Behring  Sea 
now  rolls,  which  sank  behind  him,  as  has  been 
suggested,  or  that  via  an  Atlantic  continent  where 
now  Iceland  and  its  surrounding  oceans  stand 
the  French  cave-man  came  to  America,  or  that 
the  “ long-headed  Eskimo-Botocundo  type  and 
Mexican  round-headed  type  ” reached  the  New 
World  from  the  Old  by  either  route,  before  man 
had  any  culture  at  all ; or  again  that  wanderers 
from  the  Malayan  world  drifted  to  the  South 
American  coast.  Whether  these  conjectures  be 
true  or  not  is  a question  which  doubtless 
will  receive  further  elucidation ; but  it  is 
agreed  by  many  ethnologists  that  the  aborigines 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere  came  from  the 
Eastern,  even  if  biological  evidence  of  Caucasoid 
or  negro  blood  in  the  American’s  veins  before  the 
immigrations  of  known  history  is  lacking. 

But  before  leaving  the  matter  of  the  origin  of 
man’s  ape-ancestor-relatives  it  is  to  be  recollected 
that  knowledge  upon  these  points  is  very  in- 
complete. Anthropology  and  evolution  are  but 
new  sciences,  and  still  in  a state  of  flux.  It 
may  be  established  yet  that  man’s  immediate 
ancestors  did  come  to  being  in  the  New  World 
equally  with  the  Old,  and  that  closer  research 
and  exploration  will  reveal  this,  proving  that 


28  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


America  was,  as  has  been  maintained,1  “ on  the 
basis  of  the  discoveries  of  fossil  anthropoids  and 
fossil  man  in  southern  South  America,  the  scene 
of  origin  of  man  himself.”  Discoveries  are 
constantly  being  made  which  cause  modification 
of  existing  theories  and  even  force  upon  the 
scientific  world  alterations  in  the  calendar  formed 
from  the  rocks  and  drifts.  New  pages  might  be 
added  to  that  diary  at  any  time,  new  discoveries 
at  unexpected  moments. 

Here  we  will  take  leave  of  the  biological 
problem.  From  the  wanderings  of  the  speechless 
anthropoid  to  the  builders  of  sculptured  palaces 
is  a far  cry.  The  cultural  problem  may  or  may 
not  be  explained  by  the  existence  of  very  primi- 
tive men  ; or  rather  it  does  not  seem  to  provide 
satisfactorily  for  the  similarity  of  man’s  arts  in 
the  widely  separated  regions  of  Asia  and 
America.  It  is,  of  course,  arguable  that,  given 
primitive  man  and  natural  resources,  he  will 
evolve  habitations  and  even  property ; that  he 
will  pile  one  stone  on  another  to  form  walls 
for  dwelling-place  or  defence.  But  is  he 
likely  also  to  evolve  details  of  design  and  orna- 
mentations of  similar  character  in  two  different 
worlds  ? 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  preliminary  remarks 
how  vast  is  the  field  upon  which  we  have  to  enter, 
in  considering  the  origin  of  man  and  his  culture 
in  America.  There  is  scarcely  a country  in  the 
world  which  is  not  in  one  way  or  another  cap- 
able of  being  drawn  into  the  matter.  It  involves, 

1 By  Ameghino. 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


29 


but  literally,  not  figuratively,  a survey,  of  the 
world  “ from  China  to  Peru  ” — that  well-worn 
aphorism  of  travel -lore,  and  many  branches  of 
science  are  involved  in  its  intelligent  considera- 
tion. To  attempt  all  this  in  the  scope  of  one 
volume  would  be  an  ambitious  task,  but,  as  I 
have  stated  elsewhere,  the  purpose  in  view  is  to 
stimulate  further  inquiry  into  this  fascinating 
but  neglected  subject,  rather  than  to  produce  a 
compendium  of  all  the  information  concerning  it, 
which  would  be  impossible. 

Thus,  the  principal  question  we  have  to  ask 
is  : Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  these  huge 
twin -continents  of  America  have  lain  incognito 
by  the  great  communities  of  Asia  and  the  Old 
World  until  the  mere  yesterday  of  Columbus  ? — 
incognito  throughout  the  ages  of  unfathomable 
time  since  mankind  became  a reasoning,  con- 
structive being  ? Columbus  reached  America  less 
than  four  and  a quarter  centuries  ago,  and  Eric 
the  Red  and  his  early  Norsemen  in  983 — 
admitting  this  latter  as  a historical  fact.  Can  we 
believe  that  the  Chinese  and  other  Asiatic  people, 
so  far  advanced  as  they  were  in  knowledge  and 
science  thousands  of  years  before  that  time,  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  land  we  now  call  America? 
It  is  an  alluring  theme,  yet  one  which  geo- 
graphers and  historians  seem  to  have  neglected 
strangely. 

Whatever  may  be  the  answer,  we  are  con- 
strained to  reflect  that  these  “ new  ” worlds  of 
America  have  been  the  scene  of  cycles  and 
changes  of  humanity  throughout  very  long 


30  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


periods,  eras  of  activity  of  which  the  remains 
we  now  see  in  these  deserts  and  forests  are  but 
recent  evidences,  links  fashioned  upon  older 
ones.  America  must  have  been  the  theatre  of  a 
strange  and  extensive  activity,  during  its  past. 
*We  are  reminded  at  every  turn,  in  these 
mouldering  ruins,  of  the  doings  of  bygone 
peoples.  “ The  stones  of  the  sanctuary  are 
poured  out  in  the  tops  of  every  street  ” — literally, 
in  these  ancient,  silent  communities  of  Mexico 
and  Peru.  “ How  doth  the  city  sit  solitary 
that  was  full  of  people  ! How  is  she  become 
a widow  ! ” might  indeed  be  the  lamentation  of 
some  unchronicled  prophet  about  these  perished 
empires  of  the  Aztec  and  Inca,  whose  pathetic 
story,  still  unread,  lies  before  the  traveller  to- 
day. 

The  subject  of  pre-Columbian  influence  upon 
America  had  always  interested  me  strongly,  but 
I have  looked  in  vain  for  a full  and  impartial 
research  into  its  truth  or  falsity.  I pondered  upon 
it  among  the  coast -hills  of  California  in  1894, 
where  fancy  might  seem  to  conjure  up  the  forms 
of  prehistoric  junks,  laden  with  men  from  Asia, 
sailing  out  of  the  sunset,  and  later  in  the  shade 
of  mouldering  walls  and  pyramids  in  Mexico, 
sheltering  from  the  noonday  sun,  or  among 
the  ruined  strongholds  of  some  ancient  Peruvian 
chieftain  of  the  Andes,  where  I had  sought  refuge 
from  the  cold  after  many  a hard  day’s  ride,  the 
same  problem  haunted  me.  Thence,  letting  fancy 
travel  over  the  vast  Pacific,  among  its  scattered 
islands,  with  their  extraordinary  images  and 


WHAT  IS  THE  SECRET? 


31 


walls,  from  Easter  Island  to  the  Carolines, 
stretching  out  to  Asia — structures  to  whose  origin 
we  have  no  clue — the  imagination  is  in  danger 
of  running  riot.  Nature,  geography,  and  man 
are  strangely  and  pathetically  associated  in  this 
great  mystery  of  the  Pacific,  and  once  more  we 
learn  that  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun. 


CHAPTER  II 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 

Asiatic  and  American  enigmas — The  fault  of  topography — 
Preservation  of  ruins — Wilful  destruction — Universal 
attributes  of  primitive  man — Evolution  of  the  pyramid — 
Stout  denials  of  connection — Indigenous  culture — Wide- 
spread cradle-lands — From  China  to  Peru — The  theory 
of  imported  origin — Opinion  of  Humboldt — Analogies 
with  Egypt — Yucatan  and  Ceylon — Central  America  and 
Java — The  Maya  Arch — No  real  arch  in  America — The 
“ lost  ten  tribes  ” — Lord  Kingsborough’s  work — Mexico 
the  origin  of  Egyptian  art  ? — Across  Behring  Straits — 
Junks  from  China  and  Japan — Kublai  Khan — Personal 
impressions — The  Asiatic  eskimo — Polynesian  influence 
— Easter  Island — Yucatan  as  the  lost  Atlantis — Simi- 
larities of  art — Evolution  of  Aztec  and  Inca  arts — The 
universal  Sun  God. 

Why,  we  may  ask,  has  this  enigma  of  the  Pacific 
not  yet  been  solved  ? Assyria  and  Egypt  yield  up 
their  secrets— why  not  America? 

It  is  a satisfactory  reflection  that  the  farther 

we  recede  in  time  from  matters  of  antiquity  the 

more  does  their  true  history  tend  to  become 

revealed.  The  labours  of  painstaking  students 

and  the  results  of  archaeological  expeditions  sent 

out  to  grapple  with  hidden  secrets  and  treasures 

of  history  upon  the  spot  are  constantly  affording 

evidence  that  a great  mass  of  obtainable  know- 

32 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


33 


ledge  exists,  waiting  to  be  uncovered  and  pieced 
together. 

*We  are,  however,  legitimately  entitled  to  ask 
how  it  is  that  ancient  Asia  yields  up  its  secrets 
whilst  ancient  America  does  not,  or  not  yet.  The 
reply  is  to  a large  extent  in  matters  of  inclination 
and  interest,  and  obvious  enough.  The  Old 
World,  the  lands  of  the  Bible  and  the  Classics  and 
their  people,  are  intimately  bound  up  with  our 
own  life.  They  are  part  of  that  chain  of  civi- 
lisation of  which  we  to-day  are  the  latest  links, 
and  everything  we  learn  about  what  they  did 
does  but  add  a chapter  to  our  own  history.  Not 
so  with  these  lost  civilisations  of  America,  or 
not  unless  we  can  show  that  they  have  had  any 
part  in  a vast  general  system  of  which  all  cultures 
were  offshoots.  But  there  is  also  another  reason 
for  the  comparative  neglect  of  ancient  America, 
which  may  be  summed  up  in  the  word  “ topo- 
graphy.” Not  only  in  the  New  World  is  the  glow 
and  colour  of  Oriental  populations  wanting,  but 
its  inaccessible  conditions  have  to  be  considered. 
The  remote  valleys  and  inclement  plateaux  of 
the  South  American  Andes  and  the  malarious 
forests  of  Yucatan,  where  the  buried  temples  of 
the  prehistoric  American  Pharaohs  or  Belshazzars 
lie,  are  in  marked  contrast  with  the  enjoyable 
climate  and  relatively  open  lands  of  Egypt  and 
Syria,  where  such  extensive  and  painstaking  anti- 
quarian work  has  been  carried  out.  Professors 
and  students  have  there  the  surroundings  of  a 
summer  holiday,  but  it  is  not  so  in  the  great 
deserts  and  mountains  of  North  and  South 

3 


34  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


America.  A pioneer  spirit,  a long  purse,  and 
hard  journevings,  and  hard  fare  on  mountain- 
trails,  with  the  odour  and  lore  of  the  mule  and 
the  saddle,  are  the  necessary  adjuncts  of  investi- 
gation in  the  vast  field  of  Spanish-American 
archaeology.  From  the  Euphrates  to  the  Nile  is 
but  a thousand  miles.  The  world  as  known  to 
the  ancients  was  but  a small  circle,  but  the  world 
of  early  America  covered  a zone  of  half  a hemi- 
sphere. For  one  student  in  this  field  there  are 
fifty  for  Egypt  or  Babylon. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
American  archaeology  has  been  neglected . 
Famous  archaeologists  have  devoted  years  and 
fortunes  thereto,  and  their  fascinating  works  are 
to  be  found  in  the  libraries.  The  Governments 
of  some  of  the  American  nations  are  alive  to  the 
value  of  research  now.  In  the  United  States 
a Government  Bureau  of  Ethnology  has  explored 
and  protected  the  ruins  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers.  In 
Mexico  the  Government  has  trained  antiquaries 
in  the  field  and  maintains  valuable  museums. 
Even  in  Peru  a Governmental  Historical  Institute 
has  been  established  and  European  advisers 
retained  for  the  study  of  the  ancient  cultures 
of  the  land  : and  Bolivia  has  its  museum. 

But  in  Central  America  and  South  America  it 
cannot  be  said  that  there  is  any  particular  care 
of  the  ruins  exercised,  and  havoc  and  destruction 
is  being  wrought  upon  the  famous  sites  in  many 
places,  both  by  nature  and  man.  In  Yucatan 
the  natural  levers  of  root  and  branch  in  tropic 
jungle  are  efficient  agents  in  throwing  down 


RUINS  OF  CHICHE.V  1TZA,  “THE  HOUSE  OK  THE  NUNS”  IN  YUCATAN, 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


35 


pyramids  and  walls  which  the  ignorant  inhabi- 
tant only  spares  because  of  their  inaccessibility. 
In  the  Andes  the  native  shepherd  ruthlessly 
takes  lintel,  quoin,  and  sculptured  block,  which 
have  been  produced  with  the  love  or  agony  of 
his  unknown  predecessors,  to  build  a corral  for 
his  cattle  ; and  not  alone  the  ignorant  shepherd, 
for  modern  railway  builders  of  Anglo-Saxon  race 
have  carted  away  from  the  ruins  of  Bolivia  the 
stones  of  sanctuaries  in  train-loads  to  build  their 
warehouses  and  bridges. 

It  is  surely  time  for  some  combined  inter- 
national action  in  preserving  and  investigating 
these  beautiful  and  irreplaceable  chapters  in  stone 
of  the  history  of  the  Pacific,  to  supplement  the 
work  of  private  explorers  and  antiquarians — 
French,  German,  American,  and  British.  The 
subject  of  pre-Columbian  culture  in  America  is 
of  world-wide  interest  and  importance,  and  must 
more  and  more  occupy  the  attention  of  Ameri- 
canists of  all  nationalities.  Further,  there  must 
be  some  “ commercial  ” value  about  these  ancient 
sites.  In  the  United  States  the  community  is 
fully  alive  to  the  value  of  the  old  Cliff  dwellings 
as  an  attraction  for  tourists,  and  surely  the  beau- 
tiful buried  temples  of  Central  and  South 
America  are  of  such  value  as  ought  to  warrant 
the  utmost  jealousy  in  their  preservation. 

We  have  now  to  consider — and  it  is  a question 
of  first  principles  which  bears  intimately  upon  our 
subject — whether,  given  primitive  man  in  America 
(or  elsewhere),  he  could  evolve  arts  similar  to 
those  of  the  Old  World.  The  teachings  of  anthro- 


38  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Europe,  and  even  mediaeval  Ireland  and  W<ales. 
Favourite  theories  of  this  sort  have  made  the 
North  American  aborigines  the  descendants  of 
refugees  from  sunken  Atlantis,  Tartar  warriors, 
Malayo -Polynesian  seafarers,  Hittite  immigrants 
from  Syria,  the  ‘ Lost  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel,’  &c., 
or  attributed  their  social,  religious,  and  political 
ideas  and  institutions  to  the  advent  of  stray  junks 
from  Japan,  Buddhist  votaries  from  south-eastern 
Asia,  missionaries  from  early  Christian  Europe, 
Norse  Vikings,  Basque  fishermen,  and  the  like.” 
These  statements,  whilst  worthy  of  every 
respect,  cannot  fail  to  give  the  impression  that 
their  writer  does  protest  too  much.  It  might 
even  give  rise  to  a suspicion  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader  that  they  are  impaired  by  some  curious 
prejudice,  such  as  is  observable  in  other 
American  writers  on  the  subject,  notably  Dr. 
Brinton,  quoted  in  a later  chapter,  another 
eminent  authority  ; as  if  American  philosophers 
resented  the  suggestion  that  early  America  had 
borrowed  anything  from  Europe  or  Asia,  and 
desired  to  conserve  for  America  the  credit  of 
having  been  able  to  evolve  its  own  culture.  It 
is  true  that  there  has  been  much  unscientific 
writing  on  the  subject,  but  on  the  other  hand, 
famous  scientists,  both  American  and  others, 
have  supported  the  opposite  view,  of  derived  or 
imported  culture-origins  for  America.  Among 
these  was  the  famous  and  accurate  Humboldt,1 
and,  to-day,  is  the  famous  scientist  Dr.  Alfred 
Russel  Wallace,  whose  views  are  expressed  in  his 


1 “ Vue  des  Cordilleres.” 


RUINS  OF  MITLA,  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


39 


letter  to  me  quoted  elsewhere.  Some  writers  have 
expressed  the  opinion  that  Humboldt’s  views  are 
out  of  date,  whilst  others  adopt  them  as  the  prin- 
cipal authority.  Among  European  students  of 
the  subject  the  tendency  seems  to  be  to  preserve 
the  “ open  door  ” to  the  prehistoric  immigrant 
into  America,  and  possibly  this  tendency  is  be- 
coming stronger.  In  a desire  only  to  investigate 
and  approach  nearer  if  possible  to  the  truth  of 
the  subject  all  sides  must  be  considered,  and 
throughout  these  pages  numerous  authorities,  for 
and  against,  are  quoted.  If  these  appear  to 
involve  some  repetition,  that  is  inevitable  in 
striving  for  a consensus  of  opinion. 

In  admitting  the  theory  for  a derived  origin 
for  these  early  American  civilisations  we  are  at 
once  confronted  with  the  question  “whence?” 
followed  inevitably  by  “ how  ? ” 

As  has  been  remarked,  theories  and  analogies 
have  been  adduced  pointing  to  nearly  every 
Oriental  country  as  this  place  of  origin — roads 
which,  in  greater  or  less  degree,  seem  to  termin- 
ate in  “ that  blessed  word  Mesopotamia  ! ” 

That  is  to  say,  that  strong  family  likenesses 
have  been  encountered  by  some  observers  be- 
tween Mexican  and  Peruvian  customs  and  objects 
of  antiquity  and  those  of  China  and  Chaldea. 
The  civilisation  of  China,  it  is  generally  agreed, 
was  connected  as  to  its  origin  with  Babylon. 
Egypt  also  furnishes  examples,  some  of  which 
cannot  easily  be  brushed  aside.  India,  China, 
Japan,  Java,  and  the  Malay  Peninsula  have  been 
pointed  to  by  other  students,  especially  as 


40  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


concerns  the  ruins  of  Yucatan,  as  the  real  issuing- 
point  for  the  early  Mexican  stone-shaping  art. 
So  remarkable  are  the  similarities  in  one  or  the 
other  fields  that  such  theories  have  much  to 
excuse  and  even  to  support  them.  The  beautiful 
temples  of  Chichen  Itza,  one  of  the  principal 
groups  of  the  Yucatan  remains,  have  been  said 
to  bear  a striking  resemblance  in  some  archi- 
tectural features  to  some  of  the  ancient  structures 
of  Ceylon.  The  great  temple  at  Palenque, 
another  of  the  Yucatan  groups,  has  been 
likened,  to  the  satisfaction  at  least  of  one  of  the 
explorers  of  the  middle  of  last  century,  as  regards 
some  of  its  details,  with  the  temple  of  Boro  Budor 
in  Java.  Similarity  is  adduced  from  the  fact 
that  the  truncated  pyramid  crowned  by  a temple 
was  characteristic  of  Buddhist  structures,  and 
that  the  Yucatan  buildings  are  of  this  character. 
Certain  resemblances  in  workmanship  and  design 
certainly  appear  to  be  traceable.  The  Maya 
“ Arch  ” so-called,  for  it  does  not  embody  the 
principle  of  the  arch,  is  also  found  in  Buddhist 
structures,  and  according  to  some  writers,  in  no 
others  except  in  those  of  Yucatan.1  It  occurs 
in  Peru,  however.  The  circular  arch,  vault,  or 
dome  is  not  found  among  the  early  American 
structures  nor  any  suspicion  of  it  in  prehistoric 
times,  and  if  any  relation  existed  between  the 
ancient  Mexican  and  the  Egyptian  this  is 
strange,  as  the  arch  exists  from  earliest  times 
as  an  Egyptian  structure. 

1 “The  American  Egypt,”  Arnold  and  Tabor,  gives  an 
interesting  dissertation  on  this  subject. 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


41 


Indeed,  one  explorer,  Dr.  le  Plongeon,'  who 
spent  a fortune  and  part  of  a lifetime  in  the 
investigation  of  the  Mexican  ruins,  declared  as 
a result  that  not  only  were  the  Mexican  and 
Egyptian  civilisations  connected  but  that  the 
Mexican  was  the  origin  of  the  Egyptian  ! This 
announcement  was  received  with  scorn  and  in- 
credulity by  other  archaeologists,  and  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  refer  to  this  matter  later.  Yet 
another  famous  student,  Lord  Kingsborough, 
strove  to  prove  that  the  early  Mexicans  were  the 
lost  ten  tribes  of  Israel,  a view  earlier  advanced 
by  a Spanish  historian.  He  also  spent  a fortune 
in  his  investigations  and  publications,  which  have 
been  of  great  value  even  if  his  views  were  not 
accepted. 

As  to  the  “ how,”  the  first  theory  that  has 
presented  itself  is  that  of  prehistoric  immigra- 
tion via  Behring  Strait,  a matter  which  will  be 
constantly  discussed  in  these  pages.  It  is  con- 
ceivable that  men,  bearing  in  their  bosoms  know- 
ledge of  the  stone-shaping  arts  and  of  the  type 
of  civilisation  of  the  East,  crossed  the  few  miles 
of  open  water  which  separate  Asia  from  America, 
doubtless  in  skiffs  or  primitive  craft,  and  made 
their  way  thence  over  North  and  South  America. 
Further,  it  is  conjectured  that  vessels  or  junks 
may  have  been  blown  out  of  their  course,  or 
aided  by  the  Japan  current  and  so  arrived  upon 
the  American  coast.  It  is  even  stated  that  in 
the  time  of  Kublai  Khan  a Chinese  vessel  landed 
on  the  shores  of  Peru,2  and  it  is  at  least  conceiv- 
1 See  p.  133.  a See  p.  241. 


42  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


able  that  the  later  periods  of  early  American 
culture  might  have  been  influenced  by  such  direct 
contact.  There  is  no  reason  why  such  un- 
recorded voyages  should  not  have  been  made, 
or  why  pre-Hispanic  immigrants  should  not  have 
arrived  in  that  way.  Indeed,  it  is  a matter  which 
cannot  be  lightly  dismissed,  especially  when  it 
is  recollected  that  late  in  the  nineteenth  century 
“ Japanese  junks  still  drifted  over  by  the  ocean 
current  to  California  at  the  rate  of  about  one 
a year.”  Also,  the  Aleutian  Islands  form  a sort 
of  natural  link  between  Asia  and  America. 

In  connection  with  this  aspect  of  the  subject, 
I shall  venture  here  to  record  some  personal 
experience.  When  in  San  Francisco  I had 
among  my  acquaintances  an  educated  Pole, 
who  was  an  escaped  political  prisoner  from 
Siberia,  and  a friend  of  his,  who  used  to 
join  us  in  cosmopolitan  discussion,  was  an 
educated  Chinaman.  It  was  an  expressed 
opinion  by  these  men  that  America  had  been 
discovered  by  the  Chinese  long  before  the  time 
of  Columbus.  Indeed,  the  idea  of  America  being 
a discovery  and  property  of  Spain,  only  four 
hundred  years  ago,  seemed  to  be  regarded  by 
them  as  a matter  almost  for  humour.  There 
was  something  impressive  in  this  view.  Surely  a 
people  who  knew  of  the  mariner’s  compass,  of 
printing,  of  gunpowder,  and  who  had  inherited 
the  wonderful  scientific  lore  of  their  continent 
for  thousands  of  years  must  have  known  of 
America.  Is  it  not  difficult  to  think  that  these 
great  shores,  facing  the  sunsets,  a continuous 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


43 


line  twelve  thousand  miles  long,  could  have 
slumbered  ever  since  the  dawn  of  history,  and 
never  received  touch  from  that  mighty  civilisation 
of  Asia  which  faces  it  on  the  other  side?  The 
astonishing  secretiveness  of  the  Chinese,  when 
European  travellers  first  came  in  contact  with 
them,  must  have  guarded  the  knowledge,  and  it 
is  reasonable  to  think  that  the  Chinese  knew 
perfectly  well  that  the  land  of  America  existed, 
but  wished  to  keep  the  secret  to  themselves. 
As  to  the  difficulty  of  navigation,  are  we  in  a 
position  to  state  positively  that  in  much  earlier 
times  the  Chinese  had  no  large  vessels  capable 
of  crossing  the  Pacific?  We  know  that  junks 
have  constantly  drifted  across,  as  mentioned 
before.  I must  confess  to  the  belief  that  if  the 
ancient  libraries  of  Central  Asia  were  ransacked 
and  records  diligently  overhauled,  we  should  find 
accounts  of  voyages  or  migrations  from  China 
to  the  New  World,  and  perhaps  the  present 
awakening  of  China  will  enable  these  matters 
to  be  revealed.  There  must  be  records  of 
this.1 

As  regards  the  possibility  of  ingress  into 
America  by  Behring  Strait,  this  has  been  a 
favourite  theory,  constantly  discussed  by  many 
writers.  It  has  been  shown  of  late  that  the 
extreme  north-western  region  of  North  America 
is  of  great  importance  ethnologically  in  this 

1 It  is  a curious  coincidence  that  after  writing  upon  this 
subject  in  the  above  strain  I should  have  come  upon 
similar  ideas  in  a book  quoted  later  on,  which  I had  never 
seen  before,  viz.,  “ Enoch,”  by  Kenealy.  See  p.  333. 


44  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


connection,  and  this  is  dealt  with  in  a subsequent 
chapter. 

There  remains  the  hypothesis  of  Polynesian 
contact  and  influence  on  the  Pacific  coast  of 
America,  which  has  obtained  a certain  amount 
of  acceptance  by  a few  ethnologists.  Such 
influence  is  held  to  be  traceable,  and  upon  its 
line  of  march  must  be  considered  the  extra- 
ordinary remains  of  stone-shaping  man  upon 
Easter  Island  and  the  groups  of  islands  of 
Oceania,  descriptions  of  which  are  entered  into 
in  their  respective  places.  Whilst  we  tread  in 
that  connection  the  ground  of  interesting  specula- 
tion, and  enter  into  an  extremely  involved  tangle, 
such  an  influence  is  admitted  by  one  of  the  most 
famous  scientists,  Dr.  Wallace. 

Fact  and  fable  indeed  crowd  upon  us  in  our 
attempt  to  unravel  the  mystery  of  the  Pacific. 
Lost  tribes  and  lost  continents  form  part  of  the 
story,  as  will  be  seen.  The  fabled  continent  of 
Atlantis,  and  the  supposed  vigorous  and  cultured 
race  who  were  reputed  to  inhabit  it,  also  figures 
therein.  I will  quote  from  Dr.  Holmes,  the  well- 
known  American  ethnologist,  whose  works  on 
the  ancient  buildings  of  the  New  World  are 
standard  sources  of  information.  He  says  : — 

“ It  has  been  a favourite  theory  with  many 
students  that  the  American  races  may  have  been 
derived  from  this  source  ” — referring  to  Atlantis 
— “ inheriting  therefrom  the  germ  of  that  strange 
culture  now  represented  by  so  many  ruined 
cities.  Whatever  may  be  the  truth  with  respect 
to  the  disappearance  of  the  one  continent,  it  is 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


45 


a curious  fact  that  another  land  has  risen  from 
its  watery  bed  — that  of  Yucatan.  Geology 
shows  us  this  plainly.  The  massive  beds  of 
limestone  of  which  the  peninsula  is  formed 
contain,  and  are  largely  made  up  of,  remains  of 
the  marine  forms  of  life  now  flourishing  along 
the  shores.  Fossil  shells  obtained  from  the  rocks 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  are  all  of  living 
species,  and  represent  late  Pliocene  or  early 
Pleistocene  times,  thus  possibly  bringing  the  date 
of  the  elevation  of  Yucatan  down  somewhat  near 
that  of  the  reputed  sinking  of  Atlantis  some 
eleven  or  twelve  thousand  years  ago,  or  not  far 
from  the  period  that  witnessed  the  oscillation 
attending  the  close  of  the  glacial  period.”  1 

The  peninsula  of  Yucatan  and  its  buildings  is, 
indeed,  one  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of 
the  great  field  we  are  considering,  and  contem- 
plation of  its  beautiful  ruins  and  its  singular 
geological  structure  has  furnished  a theme  for 
the  imagination  of  various  writers ; but  as  a 
science  its  archaeology  is  still  undeveloped,  and 
in  its  infancy.  But  it  is  generally  agreed  that 
the  accounts  of  the  civilisations  of  Mexico  and 
Peru  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest  show 
a state  of  culture  which  must  have  put  the 
Spaniards  to  shame,  as  regards  some  of  their 
attributes. 

“ The  one  problem  that  is  of  the  greatest 
interest  still  awaits  solution,  viz.,  whether  there 
is  any  relation,  in  culture  or  race,  between  the 

1 Holmes,  “Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World,”  Boston, 

1864. 


46  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


inhabitants  of  ancient  America  and  those  of 
Europe  or  Asia.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  if 
there  be  any  connection,  it  is  of  infinite 
remoteness.  But  it  is  at  any  rate  note- 
worthy that  the  same  designs,  patterns,  and 
even  games  are  found  in  ancient  Mexico  and 
India  and  China : and  whether  this  arises  by 
reason  of  accident  or  from  borrowings  is  a 
problem  worthy  of  most  serious  study.  If  once 
a key  be  found  to  the  ancient  Mexican  inscrip- 
tions, so  plentifully  scattered  through  the  ancient 
monuments,  it  may  be  that  enlightenment  will 
come  even  more  suddenly  and  more  surely.”  1 
This  quotation  from  the  same  publication  cited 
before,  but  by  different  authors,  serves  to  show 
again  how  varied  and  contradictory  are  the  views 
held  upon  the  subject. 

Whatever  may  be  the  real  truth  about  the 
origin  of  these  New  World  cultures,  it  must  be 
recollected  that  there  still  remains  the  question, 
scarcely  less  interesting,  of  their  evolution,  sup- 
posing that  they  were  absolutely  autochthonous. 
It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  these  people, 
the  Mayas  and  Aztecs  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  and  the  Incas  and  Aymaras  and  others 
of  Peru,  could  have  evolved  their  arts,  architec- 
ture, and  languages  in  the  period  of  a few 
hundred  years.  Their  carved-stone  buildings 
could  not  have  been  designed  and  originated  by 
a people  sprung  from  barbarism  in  four  or  five 
centuries.  It  would  be  as  reasonable  to  assert 
that  British  architects  were  the  originators  of 
1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Archaeology.” 


RUINS  OF  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA. 
Stela  20  feet  high,  with  hieroglyphics. 


To  face  p.  46. 


WHENCE  AND  HOW 


47 


Corinthian  or  Doric  architecture,  in  which  half 
the  public  buildings  in  England  are  expressed, 
and  that  they  had  evolved  those  styles  since  the 
time  of  William  the  Conqueror  ! If  the  stone- 
shaping arts  of  Asia  and  the  Old  World  took 
thousands  of  years  to  evolve,  from  the  time  when 
man  first  piled  stone  on  stone  to  form  a wall, 
must  not  these  scarcely  less  skilful  structures 
of  the  “ new  ” world  of  America  have  taken  a 
similar  ratio  of  time  to  develop?  If  it  be  true, 
as  observers  assume,  that  the  Maya  buildings 
existing  in  Central  America  and  the  Inca 
buildings  in  Peru  are  not  more  than  four  or  five 
hundred  years  old — and  it  seems  a probably 
correct  calculation — from  what  were  they  copied  ? 
They  must  have  been  copied  from  preceding 
structures,  either  elaborated  or  inherited.  If 
these  arts  were  autochthonous  in  America,  and 
have  no  connection  with  outside,  then  America 
must  have  been  developing  them  from  times  con- 
temporary with  Babylon  and  Egypt.  The 
Quechua  language  of  South  America  must  have 
taken  a thousand  years  to  evolve,  at  least. 

Apart  from  more  concrete  consideration,  we 
observe  a marked  similarity  between  these 
strange  old  lands  of  the  New  World  and  those  of 
the  Old  World,  as  we  have  before  reflected,  with 
the  authority  of  geology  and  geography,  to  bear 
it  out.  We  have  the  same  deserts  and  stony 
mountains  where  man  is  ever  striving  to  gather 
grapes  of  thorns  and  figs  of  thistles  ; the  same 
patient  people,  tyrannised  over  by  despotic 
potentates,  the  same  pastoral  pursuits,  the  same 


48  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


“ aridian  ” culture  and  beating  sun— that  atmo- 
sphere of  the  wilderness  once  felt  never  forgotten. 
In  both  worlds  the  Sun  God  was  the  native 
image  to  which  these  poor  ancients  bowed 
down  or  were  sacrificed,  and  idol,  tomb,  ruined 
temple,  and  pyramid  cover  both  regions  with 
their  mute  and  mysterious  presence. 

Having  touched  thus,  lightly,  upon  the  various 
aspects  of  the  ethnic  mysteries  surrounding  the 
Pacific  world,  we  shall  now  enter  upon  a descrip- 
tion of  the  particular  places  concerned  ; not  in 
great  detail,  for  space  would  not  suffice  in  a 
single  volume,  but  broadly,  inviting  the  reader 
to  further  study  at  the  fountain-heads  of  infor- 
mation upon  the  subject. 


S' ■ 


-'JAPAN 

Ibkyo 


. Trtutf..  /.  Y ° ' 


AUSTRAL lA 

I STRALIA  rrV^~ 


ZEALAND, 


MAP  OF 

THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN 

AND  ITS  COASTS 

To  aceomptny 

“The  Secret  of  the  Pacific” 


I 4*<l as 


C.  Reginald  Enoc<,  F.R.O.8. 


P A 

c 1 F ! 

r o 

>o  . ' I.  J 

C K A la 

f 

JTonolM 

* /A 

f-Unyfc.X.  j 

Tr-ltu.Ii?  "'  ' ''  ' h 

^ 

CHAPTER  III 


THE  TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW 

A few  points  of  geography — Coast  of  North  and  South 
America — The  great  Cordillera — Ice  and  fire — Compari- 
son with  Bible  lands — Seats  of  the  ancient  civilisations — 
Vast  distances  in  prehistoric  America — Arizona  and 
California — Mexico,  its  people  and  railways — The  re- 
publics of  Central  America — Good  and  bad  qualities — 
Panama  — Columbia  and  Ecuador  — Peru,  its  people 
and  mountains — Varied  national  traits — Chili  and  the 
Trans-Andine  railway — Mongolian  immigration  in  South 
America — A brief  survey  of  the  ancient  ruins — Hints 
to  travellers — Climate  and  equipment. 

The  seats  of  these  ancient  civilisations  of 
America,  the  Toltecs  and  Aztecs  of  Mexico,  the 
Mayas  of  Central  America,  the  Incas  and  pre- 
Incas  of  Peru,  and  others,  were,  it  is  to  be 
recollected,  separated  by  enormous  distances, 
territories,  consisting  in  many  cases  of  almost  in- 
accessible mountain  ranges,  sun-scorched  deserts, 
and  malarious  forests— forming,  indeed,  the  least 
habitable  parts  of  the  surface  of  the  New  World. 
As  to  the  Pacific  Islands,  with  their  extraordinary 
monuments,  they  are  separated  by  thousands  of 
miles  of  open  sea. 

The  American  coast,  from  where  it  leaves  the 
fringe  of  Asia  at  Behring  Strait,  which  divides 
the  Old  World  from  the  New  only  by  some  fifty- 

4 


50  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


six  miles  of  water,  follows  a series  of  gigantic 
curves  and  tangents  for  more  than  twelve 
thousand  miles  to  Cape  Horn.  Except  for  a belt 
on  each  side  of  the  equator,  and  its  northern  and 
southern  extremities,  in  British  Columbia  and 
southern  Chile  respectively,  this  great  coast  is 
arid,  and  the  traveller  approaching  it  from  the 
sea  beholds  little  that  would  attract  him.  Dreary, 
sandy  wastes,  inhabited  by  little  except  seals  and 
sea-birds,  constitute  the  littoral  of  North  and 
South  America  for  thousands  of  miles  along  the 
coasts  of  California,  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Chile. 
There  are  but  few  natural  harbours  along  this 
immense  coast-line,  so  different  in  character  to 
the  Asiatic  and  European  contours  in  this  respect, 
and  the  really  important  havens  in  a length  of 
five  thousand  miles  may  be  counted  on  the  five 
fingers  of  a man’s  hand.  There  are  few  quiet 
inlets,  estuaries,  or  sheltered  bays,  such  as  man- 
kind loves  for  his  maritime  trafficking. 

If  we  cross  these  deserts,  it  is  but  to  encounter 
the  stern  and  inaccessible  ridges  of  the  Cordillera, 
the  great  mountain  chains  of  North  and  South 
America  which  parallel  the  Pacific  throughout 
these  many  thousand  miles,  and  which  Nature  has 
broken  down  only  here  and  there  to  form  passes 
to  the  interior.  Modern  man  has  sown  a few 
harbours  and  cities  along  this  great  littoral,  and 
cultivated  a few  valleys  where  rivers  run  down 
to  the  sea  from  this  mountain  chain,  but  other- 
wise Nature  reigns  supreme,  and  even  these  few 
oases  of  humanity  are  overtopped  by  volcanoes 
and  menaced  by  earthquake  and  tidal  waves. 


TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  51 


The  ice-age  and  the  fire-age  are  both  at  work 
still.  A belt  of  craters  in  one  place  does  but 
give  place  to  a zone  of  glacier-bound  peaks,  and 
both  are  carving  out  the  land,  often  to  man’s 
detriment. 

If  primitive  civilisation  did  indeed  approach 
the  twin-continents  of  America  from  the  sea, 
it  would  have  found  at  first  sight  little  to  allure 
it,  to  invite  to  the  founding  of  a new  home  : 
and  we  may  ask  if  the  peoples  of  Alaska  and 
British  Columbia  had  any  connection  with  those 
of  Mexico,  or  if  the  inhabitants  of  that  land — the 
Aztecs  and  others — had  anything  in  common  with 
those  of  Peru  and  the  other  Andine  countries, 
and  this  is  later  discussed.  Even  in  these  days 
of  steamships  British  Columbia  and  Mexico 
know  little  of  each  other  and  nothing  of  Peru 
and  Chile. 

In  assuming  the  name  “ Secret  of  the  Pacific  ” 
for  this  thesis,  we  shall,  of  course,  not  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  some  of  these  centres  of  ancient 
civilisation  were  not  upon  the  Pacific  slope  or 
littoral.  Some,  such  as  part  of  the  Yucatan 
remains,  are  upon  the  Atlantic  side,  or  midway, 
upon  the  water-parting  of  the  continent.  All, 
however,  seem  traceable  to  an  origin  from  or  via 
the  Pacific  side.  The  great  centre  of  pre- 
Hispanic  civilisation  in  Mexico,  that  of  the  Aztecs, 
Toltecs,  and  others,  was  upon  the  great  central 
tableland,  the  land  of  Anahuac,  with  its  series 
of  great  lakes.  The  Mayas,  whose  was  perhaps 
the  highest  civilisation  attained  in  North  America 
in  pre-Columbian  times,  were  disposed  in  the 


52  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


singular  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  which  juts  out 
towards  Europe,  and  in  Central  America,  upon 
the  water-parting  and  Pacific  drainage  area.  In 
South  America,  the  seat  of  the  Incas  and  their 
forbears  was  upon  the  great  plateau  of  Titicaca 
in  the  Andes,  more  than  12,500  feet  above  sea 
level,  and  divided  from  the  Pacific  by  one  of  the 
main  ranges  of  the  Cordillera.  Nevertheless,  the 
Inca  Empire  was  altogether  a Pacific  State. 

These  two  great  centres  of  early  American 
civilisation,  Mexico  and  Peru,  are  more  than 
three  thousand  miles  apart,  as  regards  their 
capital  cities  ; the  whole  of  Central  America, 
the  Panama  Isthmus,  and  the  north  of  South 
America  intervening.  These  are  regions  of  so 
mountainous  and  inaccessible  a character,  in  great 
part,  as  are  scarcely  encountered  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world,  and  I retain  vivid  impressions  of 
journeys  made  in  traversing  them.  Burning 
desert  plains,  over  which  the  wearied  horseman 
toils  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  broken  foothills,  deep 
ravines,  dense  forests,  rapid  and  treacherous 
rivers,  which  empty  their  torrential  courses  sud- 
denly into  the  sea  without  estuary  or  bar,  pre- 
cipitous mountain  passes  overhung  by  glaciers, 
where  the  trail  at  times  lies  across  the  perpetual 
snowcap,  and  vast  dreary,  treeless  punas  or  high 
tablelands,  where  the  rarefied  air  of  great  eleva- 
tion reacts  painfully  upon  the  traveller’s  heart 
and  lungs.  Mules,  Indians,  mosquitoes,  heat, 
cold,  snow,  rain,  hard  fare,  sunburn,  snow- 
blindness,  mountain -sickness,  semi -starvation, 
fever — all  these  the  traveller  must  experience  in 


TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  53 


the  rugged  lands  discovered  by  Cortes  and 
Pizarro,  and  there  are  few  of  these  incidents  of 
travel  with  which  I have  not  made  some 
acquaintance,  in  the  more  remote  regions. 

For  the  sake  of  rapid  comprehension,  the 
following  list  of  the  main  centres  of  these  old 
civilisations  of  North  and  South  America  may 
be  studied.  In  the  first  column  appear  the 
names  of  the  country  or  State  ; in  the  second  the 
names  of  the  former  cultural  people  inhabiting 
them  : — 

Culture. 

■ No  stone-shaping  arts. 

The  Cliff  Dwellers,  Irri- 
gationists,  &c. 

Toltecs,  Aztecs,  &c. 

| Mayas,  Quiches,  &c. 

j Possible  fusion  between 
\ Maya  and  Inca  culture. 

■ Incas  and  pre-Incas,  &c. 

Those  people  who  practised  stone-shaping  arts 
or  building  of  stone  structures,  it  is  seen,  cover  a 
vast  zone  of  territory,  extending  from  north  to 
south  over  7o°of  latitude,  or  nearly  five  thousand 
miles.  The  two  most  famous  centres  at  the  time 
of  the  Conquest,  those  of  Tenochtitlan,  as 
Mexico  City  under  the  Aztecs  was  termed,  and 
Cuzco,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Incas  in  Peru, 


Country 

Alaska  

British  Columbia 
Oregon  and  Washington 
California,  Colorado... 
Utah,  New  Mexico  ... 

Arizona  

Mexico 

Yucatan  and 

Central  America 

Columbia  

Ecuador  

Peru 

Bolivia 

Chile 


54  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


are,  as  stated,  some  three  thousand  miles  apart. 
When  we  recollect,  as  before  remarked,  that  the 
distance  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Nile  or  from 
Chaldea  to  Egypt  is  only  a thousand  miles,  we 
shall  grasp  something  of  the  enormous  distance 
over  which  the  pre-historic  American  civilisation 
appears  to  have  filtered.  To  traverse  the  rela- 
tively flat  land,  moreover,  between  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Nile,  such  as  was  the  theatre  of  the 
migrations  of  Abraham,  would  be  a simple  matter 
in  comparison  with  an  exodus  along  the  rugged 
and  inclement  region  of  the  Cordillera  of  North 
and  South  America,  or,  indeed,  along  their 
barren  coasts. 

To-day  the  tide  of  travel  grows  apace,  and  it 
may  be  that  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal — 
predicted  for  1915 — will  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  this  mighty  coast  region  and  of  the  Ameri- 
can Pacific  countries  in  general.  But  it  will  be 
inevitable,  for  a long  time  yet,  that  the  traveller 
will  be  thrown  very  largely  on  his  own  resources— 
and  in  this  will  lie  its  charm  to  the  adventurous. 
There  are  no  fashionable  tourist  resorts,  routes 
are  not  mapped  out  nor  hotels  recommended  in 
these  regions,  nor  are  liveried  guides  and  inter- 
preters attendant  upon  the  foreigner  as  in  the 
beaten  tracks  of  the  Old  World.  Of  course  the 
Pacific  slope  of  the  United  States  offers  all  that 
can  be  desired  in  the  way  of  convenience  to  the 
traveller,  and  in  Arizona  or  California  he  will 
have  little  cause  for  complaint  concerning  his 
accommodation.  Further,  it  forms  a scenic 
wonderland,  without  peer,  of  its  special  kind. 


TRAVELLERS  POINT  OF  VIEW  55 


In  Spanish -America,  however,  which  embodies 
all  but  a small  part  of  the  field,  things  are  very 
different,  and  a brief  sketch  of  the  people  and 
conditions  of  those  lands  will  be  in  order  here. 

Mexico  is  traversed  by  various  railways,  several 
main  lines  connecting  the  country  with  the 
railway  system  of  the  United  States.  These  lines 
cross  the  great  plateau  of  Mexico  to  the  capital 
(elevation  7,500  feet)  and  are  about  four  days’ 
continuous  rail  journey  from  New  York.  This  is, 
in  the  main,  an  arid  region,  although  intersected 
by  extremely  rich  valleys  and  irrigated  areas, 
producing  cotton,  maguey,  &c.  ; whilst,  of 
course,  the  fabulous  mineral  wealth  of  Mexico, 
in  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  all  else,  lies  mainly 
in  the  mountains  which  bound  or  intersect  this 
great  central  tableland.  On  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  slopes  there  are  a few  lines  of  railway 
connecting  the  central  system  with  the  seaports, 
and  southwardly  from  the  capital  the  railway 
system  is  connected  with  the  trans -isthmian 
Tehuantepec  railway.  The  slopes  and  littoral 
regions  are  tropical  in  character,  yielding  every 
tropical  and  sub-tropical  product.  Speaking 
generally,  the  climate  of  Mexico  is  healthy,  and, 
indeed,  in  many  places  can  only  be  described 
as  delightful.  In  the  lower  districts  and  in  the 
tropical  forests,  however,  malaria  is  a serious 
matter.  Yucatan  and  the  more  southern  States 
are  not  connected  with  the  railway  system  of  the 
country,  and  are  reached  by  sea.  As  regards  the 
conveniences  of  travel,  these,  away  from  the  rail- 
ways, are  not  to  be  expected,  and  the  traveller 


56  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


must  take  careftil  measures  for  his  food,  accom- 
modation, and  beasts  of  burden.  As  to  personal 
security,  bandits  and  highwaymen  were  practi- 
cally eliminated  under  the  Diaz  regimen,  and 
doubtless  the  later  revolutionary  disturbances 
will  calm  down  in  time.  In  the  more  remote 
provinces,  inhabited  by  half -civilised  Indians 
under  petty  local  authorities,  certain  precautions 
must  be  taken,  but,  as  a whole,  the  prudent 
traveller  may  journey  throughout  the  whole  of 
Mexico  in  security  of  life  and  property.  The 
Mexicans  of  all  classes  are  courteous  and 
generally  well  disposed  towards  foreigners. 

Yucatan  is  described  briefly  in  the  chapter 
dealing  therewith.  It  is,  of  course,  part  of 
Mexico  territorially,  but  merges  in  all  other  ways 
into  Central  America. 

The  separate  republics  forming  this  division 
of  America  are  more  or  less  alike  in  physical 
character.  They  offer  a wide  range  of  climate 
and  topography,  and  of  the  things  of  the  plant 
and  animal  world,  due  to  their  highland  and  low- 
land structure,  consequent  upon  the  mountain 
range  which  traverses  them.  Politically  they  are 
backward,  and  financially  they  are  notorious  in 
the  London  “ Market  ” for  inability  to  meet  the 
interest  on  loans.  They  are  reached  by  sea  either 
on  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  side,  and  in  some  cases 
are  traversed  by  railway  lines  between  the  two 
waters.  They  offer  in  many  respects  much  of 
interest  to  the  traveller  who  can  put  up  with  the 
discomforts  which  Spanish-American  travel  ever 
carries  with  it,  and  as  to  their  people,  their  defects 


TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  57 


are  counterbalanced  often  by  good  qualities,  to 
which  fair  consideration  must  be  shown.  This 
region  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  richest  parts  of 
the  earth’s  surface,  as  regards  its  wealth  and 
variety  of  natural  resources,  and  its  development 
belongs  to  the  near  future. 

The  terminus  of  this  region  is  marked  by 
Panama,  a centre  now  of  general  interest,  and 
thence  the  great  mainland  of  South  America  is 
reached,  in  Columbia  and  Ecuador. 

These  two  countries  must  be  regarded  as  still 
very  backward  in  their  political  and  economical 
development,  although  full  of  alluring  possibili- 
ties. From  Guayaquil  a railway  now  reaches 
Quito,  the  equator-situated  capital  of  Ecuador. 
Extremely  rich  in  agricultural  possibilities  and 
mineral  products  are  these  countries,  and  much 
may  be  expected  of  them  when  the  requirements 
of  commerce  lay  earnest  hands  upon  them.  At 
present  their  resources  have  been  little  more  than 
played  with.  Of  course  it  is  to  be  recollected 
that  these  countries  are  extremely  mountainous 
in  character  and  correspondingly  difficult  of 
access  as  regards  the  interior,  whilst  as  concerns 
their  eastern  or  Amazonian  and  Orinoco  water- 
sheds, much  remains  unexplored. 

Peru,  following  on  Ecuador,  has  a coast-line 
of  more  than  1,400  miles,  and  is  described  in  the 
special  chapters  devoted  thereto.  It  suffers,  from 
an  economical  point  of  view,  in  that  its  interior  is 
cut  off  from  the  littoral  by  the  huge  ranges, 
double  and  treble,  of  the  Andes,  which  mountains 
in  Peru  and  Bolivia  come  to  their  greatest 


58  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


development.  The  existence  of  the  Andes,  how- 
ever, is  the  cause  of  Peru’s  great  wealth  in  natural 
resources,  of  minerals,  &c.,  and  other  com- 
pensating circumstances.  The  people  of  Peru, 
the  modern  Spanish-American  governing  race, 
are  intelligent  but  ease-loving,  and  although  full 
of  good  intentions,  are  at  times  marked  by  a lack 
of  sincerity  in  their  commercial  and  political  deal- 
ings, and  inability  to  carry  out  the  development 
of  their  great  heritage.  Two  main  lines  of 
railway  reach  the  interior  of  the  country  from  the 
coast,  crossing  the  Andes  at  great  elevations  ; 
but  so  far  they  are  isolated  from  any  of  the  other 
railway  systems  of  South  America,  and  conse- 
quently the  country  is  only  to  be  reached  by  sea. 

Somewhat  similar  conditions  prevail  in  Chile, 
although  the  Chilians  are  a far  more  energetic 
and  progressive  race  than  their  neighbours.  This 
country,  although  of  enormous  length,  is  con- 
tained in  the  strip  between  the  Andes  and  the 
sea,  and  does  not  extend  beyond  the  mountains. 
Nevertheless,  great  mineral  and  agricultural 
wealth  is  possessed  by  Chile,  and  the  only  trans- 
continental railway  in  South  America  is  hers, 
in  conjunction  with  Argentina.  The  archaeo- 
logical region,  however,  which  we  are  called  on 
to  tread  ceases  in  Northern  Chile,  extending 
little  beyond  the  southern  limits  of  the  Titicaca 
plateau . 

A few  remarks  upon  more  intimate  matters 
of  life  and  travel  in  Latin  America  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here,  written  from  the  point  of  view 
of  considerable  experience  of  my  own. 


LAKE  TITICACA,  SOUTHERN  PERU  INDIAN  RUSH  RAFTS  ANI)  CONICAL  HOUSES. 


TRAVELLERS  POINT  OF  VIEW  59 


As  soon  as  we  enter  a Spanish-American 
capital  life  takes  on  an  atmosphere  and  colour 
which  are  not  found  elsewhere.  We  are  amid  a 
people  more  quixotic  than  ever  were  the  nation 
of  their  forefathers  of  Spain.  The  air  is  full  of 
personality  and  contrast.  On  every  hand  are 
presidents,  generals,  Cabinets,  banquets,  oratory, 
civil  and  military  fanfare.  Monuments  of  public 
heroes  from  Bolivar  onwards,  set  amid  palms 
and  fountains,  with  a surrounding  medium  of 
men  in  top-hats  and  frock-coats,  each  a potential 
president  or  prospective  or  ex-Cabinet  minister, 
and  ladies  whose  outdoor  apparel  would  in  some 
cases  outshine  a Parisian  ballroom  ; sunshine  and 
blue  skies,  the  strains  of  music  in  shady  Alame- 
das  ; evidences  of  wealth,  or  pretensions  of  wealth  ; 
literature  and  heroics,  or  pretension  of  such ; 
“ liberty  ” and— no,  not  equality,  for  nowhere 
are  the  great  gulfs  of  class  so  firmly  fixed  ; but 
all,  whether  reality,  whether  pretension,  forming 
a picture  which  will  not  easily  fade  from  the  mind. 
If  we  are  travellers  of  note  or  persons  of  import- 
ance in  any  sphere,  this  atmosphere  will  become 
intensified  greatly.  We  shall  almost  despair  at 
first  of  the  courtesy  and  “ correctness  ” of  every 
one  with  whom  we  come  in  contact,  whether 
it  be  the  ceremony  of  entering  a doorway,  with  its 
insistence  on  our  precedence,  whether  the  toast 
in  our  honour  at  dinner  or  lunch,  mingled  with 
flattering  attributes  which  will  bring  the  blush 
to  the  Anglo-Saxon  cheek.  Often  these  matters 
will  fill  us  with  genuine  pleasure.  The  country 
is  not  all  pretension,  the  bright  smiles  of  women 


60  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


not  all  conventional.  Much  of  it  arises  from  a 
desire  to  please,  from  the  love  of  the  pleasurable 
in  life,  and  a desire  to  share  it  with  us  ; from 
the  strong  trait  of  hospitality  which  is  so  pleasing 
a feature  of  Latin  America,  upon  which  the 
inevitable  inroads  of  commercialism  have  now 
begun  to  tell.  Above  all,  the  fact  that  we  come 
from  a far-off  land,  and  are  of  a famous  race, 
will  heighten  the  warmth  of  our  reception. 

The  keynote  to  the  character  of  the  people 
of  the  Latin -American  world  is  the  word 
Caballero.  A caballero,  as  every  one  knows,  is 
a gentleman,  literally  a horseman,  which  explains 
its  philosophy  and  derivation.  Every  man 
desires  to  be  considered  a caballero.  It  is  a 
legacy  from  his  Spanish  ancestry,  a heritage  of 
Don  Quixote,  at  which  we  of  the  ruder  Anglo- 
Saxon  world  will  not  scoff.  The  spirit  of  noblesse 
oblige  which  the  Spanish  Conquistadores  be- 
queathed and  the  Spaniard  of  whatever  class 
strives  to  uphold,  is  extremely  grateful  after  the 
blatant  discourtesy  which  too  often  is  mistaken 
for  equality  in  the  United  States,  and  to  a less 
degree  in  the  British  colonies. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said  earlier  in 
this  book  about  natural  obstacles  in  these  coun- 
tries above  and  below  the  equator,  the  difficul- 
ties and  dangers  of  travel  in  Spanish-America 
have  often  been  exaggerated.  Wars,  revolutions, 
fevers,  snakes,  assassination,  and  highway 
robberies  bulk  largely  in  the  mind  of  the  pros- 
pective traveller — an  obsession  which  has  been 
unwarrantably  acute.  The  experienced  traveller. 


TRAVELLERS  POINT  OF  VIEW  61 


in  looking  back  upon  his  wanderings  and  sojourn  - 
ings  in  these  lands,  will  find  that  two  facts  stand 
out  in  his  memory.  One  is  that  the  difficulties 
of  travel  in  wild  countries  are  really  less  than 
pictured  before  he  attempted  to  overcome  them. 
The  other  is  that  the  necessity  for  carrying  arms 
is  in  great  part  an  illusion.  The  traveller  who 
is  a gentleman  will  find  that  his  best  weapons 
are  tact  and  sincerity,  straightforwardness  and 
reserve.  It  has  been  claimed  for  the  mariner 
that  a special  Providence  watches  over  him,  but 
the  traveller  in  the  wild  places  of  the  earth  will 
find  a similar  philosophy  capable  of  sustaining 
him. 

No  feature  of  Spanish-American  travel  stands 
out  in  the  traveller’s  recollection  more  strongly 
than  the  mules,  the  arrieros  or  mule  drivers,  the 
mountain  road,  and  all  the  lore  and  incident  con- 
nected therewith.  For  in  these  generally  moun- 
tainous countries  railways  are  few  ; coaches  or 
diligencias  untrustworthy,  and  the  sturdy  and 
patient  saddle-animals  hold  their  own  as  means 
of  conveyance  of  men  and  merchandise  over 
thousands  and  thousands  of  miles  throughout 
these  mighty  cordilleras  and  boundless  river 
basins,  forests,  and  plains.  Indeed,  it  may  occur 
to  the  traveller  at  times  that  the  near  future  will 
carry  us  up  to  the  epoch  of  air-journeying  with- 
out an  intermediary  between  the  saddle  and  the 
aeroplane,  in  these  inaccessible  regions. 

The  popular  idea  of  the  climate  of  Spanish 
America  is  generally  somewhat  vague,  like  the 
popular  geographical  conceptions  concerning  it, 


m THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


and  it  is  usually  pictured  as  a more  or  less 
torrid  region.  This  of  course  is  true  for 
large  portions  of  it,  especially  such  as  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
and  the  region  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  But  in  reality  the  range  of  climatic 
conditions  is  extremely  varied,  more  so  possibly, 
or  at  least  as  concerns  South  America,  than  any 
other  continent  on  the  globe.  In  those  countries 
traversed  by  the  Andes  the  traveller,  within  the 
span  of  a single  day’s  journey  may  experience 
temperatures  ranging  from  tropic  heat  to  Arctic, 
or  rather  Antarctic,  cold.  It  has  fallen  in  the 
scope  of  my  journeys  on  occasions  to  pass  from 
semi-tropic  valleys  where  oranges  and  lemons 
flourish  to  the  bleak  uplands  where  neither  corn 
nor  timber  grows,  and  indeed  to  the  limit  of  the 
perpetual  snowfields,  in  the  course  of  one  day’s 
ride.  This  matter  of  climate  is  naturally  of  im- 
portance in  determining  various  conditions  of 
travel,  and  the  traveller,  if  he  has  not  taken  them 
sufficiently  into  consideration  as  regards  his 
equipment,  may  suffer  discomfort  and  inconveni- 
ence or  possibly  more  serious  results  thereby. 
It  is  also  to  be  recollected  that  in  the  higher 
regions  of  these  mountainous  lands  such  as  on 
the  great  Mexican  plateau  or  the  high  punas  or 
tablelands  of  the  Andes,  the  diurnal  changes  of 
temperature  are  very  marked.  These  matters 
determine  questions  of  clothing  and  equipment. 
Blankets  under  the  saddle  may  always  be 
carried  ; they  both  ease  the  burden  on  the  animal 
and  keep  dry  during  storms.  A folding  cot  and 


TRAVELLER’S  POINT  OF  VIEW  63 


a rubber  cape  are  indispensable  adjuncts  in  most 
regions  away  from  railways,  and  for  well -filled 
saddlebags  of  light  food  the  traveller  will  often 
have  occasion  to  return  hearty  thanks  to  Provi- 
dence. All  horse  equipment  is  far  better 
obtained  in  the  country  itself  rather  than  taken 
from  home.  It  is  more  suitable,  and  cheaper. 

Thus  it  is  seen  how  vast  and  varied  is  this 
New  World  of  America,  especially  those  regions 
that  look  towards  the  Pacific.  What  is  to  be  its 
future?  Is  Europe  to  continue  its  colonisation 
and  development,  or  will  it  be  colonised — either 
under  peaceful  immigration  or  by  conquest  as 
time  goes  on — by  the  teeming  millions  of  the 
Mongolian  world  of  Asia?  Such  a development 
is  not  outside  the  range  of  possibility.  Is  the 
Spanish  element  which  so  far  has  peopled  it  too 
feeble  to  finish  the  work  it  began  four  hundred 
years  ago?  Will  the  European  nations  exhaust 
their  powers  of  colonisation  or  reproduction  in 
this  epoch  of  rampant  commercialism  and  “ race- 
suicide  ” ? 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  enter 
into  that  question.  We  are  concerned  here  with 
the  past,  and  with  the  remains  of  ancient  empires. 
Whether  in  South  America  or  in  North  America 
where  these  old  civilisations  flourished,  we  shall 
constantly  be  reminded  of  the  existence  of  former 
peoples.  Here  they  lived,  loved,  wept,  fought, 
died.  Here  are  burial-mounds  and  mausoleums 
of  departed  populations,  rock  tombs  and 
mummy  cellars.  Here  are  ruined  hilltop  for- 
tresses, like  castles  of  unreal  romance,  yet 


64  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


stranger  than  fiction.  In  Inca  kitchens,  whose 
hearthstones  were  cold  ages  before  Columbus 
sailed,  my  men  have  cooked  the  evening  meal, 
whilst  the  winds  murmured  past  outside  and 
the  wearied  mules  champed  their  fodder  in  the 
courtyard  of  some  bygone  Andine  potentate. 

In  some  regions  we  shall  encounter  abandoned 
settlements  of  pueblos  and  gentiles  on  every  hand, 
community-houses  and  watch-towers  set  amid 
sandy  desert  or  snow-crowned  cordillera,  regions 
where  men  dwelt  in  fear  or  security,  where 
tribes  and  chieftains  battled  like  those  of  the 
Holy  Land  for  the  possession  of  the  soil,  and 
where  primitive  sentinels  watched  vigilantly, 
perched  on  lofty  cliffs,  guarding  the  approaches 
to  water-holes  and  fertile  valleys.  Here  are 
mountain  roads  over  which  prehistoric  Aztec  or 
Inca  postmen  toiled— mail  carriers  in  active 
working  long  before  Europe  dreamt  of  such  a 
service,  but  which  existed  in  Asia. 

Our  horses’  hoofs  will  rattle  among  the  frag- 
ments of  pottery  of  a bygone  people,  whose 
skulls,  bones,  mummies  will  be  our  constant  com- 
panions, and  whose  ancient  temples  and  ghostly 
habitations  will  serve  as  our  abiding-places. 


FORTRESS  OF  SACSAIHUAMAN,  BELOW. 


CHARTER  IV 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES 

The  'Eskimos — An  important  region — Behring  Sea  culture- 
area — A link  between  Asia  and  America — Language — 
Art — Mongol  origin — Boats  and  navigation — The  Aleu- 
tians— Customs  and  religions  of  the  Eskimos — The  road 
from  Asia — Siberia — Neolithic  man — The  Hydah  Indians 
— The  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway — Bancroft’s  des- 
cription— Hydah  carvings  — Totem  poles  — Canoes  — 
Inter-continental  navigation  — The  Nootkas  — Native 
customs  — The  Apaches — California  to-day- — Behring 
Strait — The  “ Miocene  Bridge  ” — Other  early  land  con- 
nections with  America — Passing  reflections. 

Before  entering  upon  the  more  interesting 
field  that  the  civilisations  of  early  Mexico,  Peru, 
and  Australasia  offer,  we  must  consider  some 
humbler  peoples  who  form  links  in  the  geo- 
graphical and  ethnological  chain  which,  begin- 
ning at  that  interlocking  fringe  of  Asia  and 
America  of  Behring  Strait,  we  shall  follow  around 
the  rim  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  first  people  to  occupy  our  attention  are 
the  Eskimos,  those  races  which,  dwelling  from 
Greenland  right  across  North  America  along  the 
Arctic  shores,  extend  into  Asia  across  Behring 
Strait,  and  so  positively  are  inhabitants  of  both 
continents. 

The  portion  of  America  in  its  extreme  north- 

5 


65 


66  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


western  point  has  been  shown  by  recent  investi- 
gations— particularly  those  carried  on  by  the 
Jessup  expedition  of  1897  to  1902  in  that  region 
and  among  the  aborigines  of  the  Asiatic  fringe 
of  the  north-eastern  coast  facing  America — to  be 
of  great  importance  to  the  ethnologists.  The 
study  of  this  region,  which  may  be  termed  the 
“ Behring  Sea  culture  area,”  reveals  that  there 
have  been  transmissions  of  culture  from  one  con- 
tinent to  the  other,  and  it  is  even  stated  that 
“ the  Asiatic  Eskimo  is  of  American  origin, 
having  come  originally  from  his  home  beyond 
the  Mackenzie  river.”  At  an  early  period  these 
people  interrupted  the  intercourse  which  existed 
between  the  Siberian  and  the  Indian  tribes,  on 
their  respective  sides  of  the  strait,  an  inter- 
course which  has  left  cultural  traits  in  this  area 
in  the  fringes  of  both  continents.  In  mythology, 
language,  and  certain  arts,  customs,  and  beliefs 
it  is  established  that  a unity  of  culture  exists 
embracing  the  natives  of  North-eastern  Siberia 
and  the  Indians  of  the  North  Pacific  coast  of 
America,  and  this  fact  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant which  has  been  established  in  recent 
ethnological  research. 

The  language  of  the  Eskimos,  with  the  varia- 
tion only  of  dialects,  is  one  from  Greenland  to 
Eastern  Siberia,  and  differs  entirely  from  the 
whole  group  of  European  languages.  The 
Eskimos  have  not,  of  course,  any  literature,  but 
they  etch  on  ivory  the  subjects  of  their  legends, 
and  have  a considerable  folklore,  in  which  they 
must  be  regarded  as  intelligent. 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  67 


The  Eskimos  are  separated  by  most  authorities 
as  a people  apart  from  the  American  Indians, 
and  are  even  regarded  as  “ a distinct  sub-race  of 
the  Mongolo-Malay  ” 1 by  some.  Indeed,  a 
good  deal  of  controversy  has  centred  about  the 
“ Mongolian  ” origin,  a supporter  of  which  was 
the  eminent  Virchow.  This  subject  is  further 
discussed  in  a subsequent  chapter.  Formerly  the 
inhabitants  of  the  whole  Hyperborean  sea-coast, 
from  the  Mackenzie  River  to  Queen  Charlotte 
Island — the  interior  being  entirely  unknown — 
were  denominated  Eskimos,  and  were  of  sup- 
posed Asiatic  origin.2 3  This  is  borne  out  by  later 
writers,  one  of  whom  considers  that  the  Labrador 
Eskimos  are  “ physically  related  to  the  Mongols 
of  Asia.”  3 

The  boats  of  these  northern  people,  in  the 
region  of  the  strait  and  of  the  Aleuts  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  are  formed  of  a skeleton  of 
wood  covered  with  sealskins,  and  they  carry 
fifteen  or  twenty  persons,  and  in  a storm  two 
or  three  are  lashed  together.  The  small  kyak 
is  decked  or  covered  with  skins  except  the  hole 
filled  by  the  navigator,  and  no  water  can  enter. 
Astonishing  evolutions  are  performed  by  the 
kyak  rower,  who  at  will  can  turn  his  craft  com- 
pletely over  in  an  aquatic  somersault  and  right 
it  with  his  paddle.  Sails  are  used  by  the  large 

1 Dr.  Hrdlicka,  “ Handbook  of  American  Indians  North  of 
Mexico.” 

* Bancroft. 

3 “Among  the  Eskimos  of  Labrador,”  Dr.  Hutton,  1912, 
London. 


68  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


boats,  and  the  Aleutians  put  to  sea  with  them 
in  all  weathers.  Communications  are  constantly 
carried  on  between  the  natives  of  this  fringe  of 
Asia  and  America,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
prehistoric  immigrants  of  whatever  race  or  cult 
would  have  had  little  difficulty  at  whatever  period 
in  being  ferried  over  from  the  Old  World  to  the 
New.  That  such  ferryings  did  occur  in  those 
periods  when  Asia  “ boiled  over  ” it  seems  diffi- 
cult to  doubt. 

Some  of  the  customs  of  these  northern  savages 
are,  moreover,  sufficiently  bestial  to  have  been 
derived  from  those  people  whose  doings  brought 
down  wrath  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  or 
at  least  so  they  are  described  by  Bancroft,1 
who  quotes  from  numerous  authors.  Never- 
theless they  are  not  without  religion,  and 
they  possess  a native  animism,  embodying  a 
vague  belief  in  good  and  evil  spirits,  a heaven 
and  a hell.  Nominally,  to-day  they  are  nearly 
all  Christians.  Among  their  native  religious  rites 
is  the  “ sun-dance.”  The  Eskimo  snow  huts, 
made  in  blocks  with  courses  inclining  inwards 
to  a beehive  shape,  are  reminiscent  of  the  adobe 
huts  of  similar  form  of  the  Indians  of  Lake 
Titicaca,  in  Peru  ; and,  indeed,  of  such  structures 
in  stone  in  Asia  Minor. 

The  road  from  Asia,  that  is,  from  India,  China, 
Mongolia,  which  in  imagination  we  might  lay 
down  for  wanderers  from  those  regions  to  have 
passed  over  on  their  supposed  way  to  America — 
unconscious,  no  doubt,  of  their  destination,  and 
1 Bancroft,  “ Native  Races,”  vol.  i.,  p.  82,  &c. 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  69 


occupying  unknown  stages  of  time — might  lie 
along  the  great  plateau  of  East  Siberia  or 
possibly  along  the  coast.  The  mountain  ranges 
trend  north-eastwardly,  and  this  would  seem  to 
direct  the  line  of  least  resistance  towards  Behring 
Strait.  Indeed,  the  vast  plateau  of  Central  Asia 
stretches  from  the  Himalayas  to  Behring  Strait. 
The  remains  of  Neolithic  man  are  extremely 
plentiful  upon  the  shores  of  the  lakes  which 
filled  the  depressions  in  the  Lacustrine  period. 
Numerous  tumuli,  furnaces,  and  other  remains 
give  evidence  of  a population  much  more  numer- 
ous formerly.  At  the  time  of  the  great  migra- 
tions in  Asia  from  east  to  west  it  is  probable 
that  people  were  forced  towards  the  northern 
borders  of  the  great  plateau,  and  from  there 
pushed  into  Siberia.  These  people  must  have 
been  forced  still  farther  towards  the  barren  north 
by  succeeding  waves  of  migration,  where  they 
“ melted  away,”  it  is  stated.  Numerous  remains 
of  the  Bronze  period  are  scattered  all  over 
Southern  Siberia,  of  those  early  people  who 
excelled  in  bronze,  gold,  and  silver  work,  orna- 
ments and  implements  often  polished,  which  show 
considerable  taste,  but  a people  to  whom  iron 
was  unknown.  Their  irrigated  fields  covered 
wide  areas  in  the  fertile  tracts.  It  is  not  here 
asserted  that  these  matters  form  links  in  the 
supposed  Asia-American  chain,  but  they  bear 
upon  it.  The  Siberian  region  is  in  great  part 
unknown  and  invites  fuller  investigation. 

A “ striking  physical  likeness  ” has  been 
spoken  of  as  between  the  Lolos  of  the  Upper 


70  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Yangtse,  of  Tibetan  origin,  and  the  North 
American  Indian  ; which  might  “ serve  to  link 
the  plateau  of  Central  Asia  with  the  plains  of 
North  America.”1 

Behring  Strait,  which  divides  Siberia  from 
Alaska — fifty-six  miles  of  water  broken  by  some 
small  islands — is  generally  covered  with  fog ; 
although  the  Siberian  coast  is  visible  from  Cape 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  north-westernmost  point 
of  America,  on  clear  days.2 3  On  the  summit  of 
this  cape  there  are  seen  some  “ curious  stone 
erections,  moss-grown,  dilapidated,  and  appa- 
rently of  great  age,  tomb-like  constructions  or 
pillars  of  stone  about  io  feet  high,  said  to  have 
been  made  by  the  Eskimos  to  represent  men,  and 
thus  to  deceive  an  enemy,”  3 which  latter  state- 
ment, however,  is  not  vouched  for.  Possibly 
further  discoveries  in  Alaska  will  bring  to  light 
other  matters  of  interest  concerning  early  build- 
ing there. 

Whilst  we  do  not  find  stone  monuments  north 
of  the  culture  area  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers  of 
Arizona  and  Colorado,  which  we  shall  presently 
consider,  some  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  great 
north-west  have  their  place  here  in  considering 
the  possible  links  between  Asia  and  Mexico 
via  the  north.  The  Hydah  Indians  are  prob- 
ably the  most  noteworthy,  originally  occupying 
Prince  of  Wales  Island,  in  Alaska,  and  Queen 

1 “Chinese  Frontier  of  India”  : Archibald  Rose, Geographical 
Journal,  March,  1912. 

2 “ Paris  to  New  York  by  Land,”  H.  de  Windt. 

3 Ibid. 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  71 


Charlotte  Islands  and  the  adjacent  coast  of 
British  Columbia  for  one  hundred  miles  inland, 
between  550  and  520  of  north  latitude.  In  this 
enormous  region,  so  little  understood  by  the 
ordinary  reader,  great  changes  are  occurring. 
The  seaport  of  Prince  Rupert,  the  terminus  of  the 
new  Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway,1  lies  here, 
the  great  line  whose  opening  is  expected  to 
precede  that  of  the  Panama  Canal.  Modem 
commerce  will  soon  send  its  echoes  resounding 
through  this  region  of  forest,  fiord,  and  moun- 
tain, of  which  Bancroft 2 wrote  beautifully, 
depicting  that  time  when  those  peoples  were 
least  known  to  Europeans  ; when  throughout  the 
region  of  Columbia — that  is,  British  Columbia 
and  Oregon — 

“ Nature’s  wild  magnificence  was  yet  fresh, 
primeval  forests  unprofaned,  lakes  and  rivers, 
and  rolling  plains  unswept ; it  was  when 
countless  villages  dotted  the  luxuriant  valleys  ; 
when  from  the  warriors’  camp-fire  the  curling 
smoke  never  ceased  to  ascend  nor  the  sounds 
of  song  and  dance  to  be  heard ; when  bands  of 
gaily  dressed  savages  roamed  over  every  hillside  ; 
when  humanity  unrestrained  vied  with  bird  and 
beast  in  the  exercise  of  liberty  absolute.  This 
is  no  history.  Alas!  they  have  none;  it  is 
but  a sun-picture,  and  to  be  taken  correctly 
must  be  taken  quickly.  Nor  need  we  pause  to 
look  back  through  the  dark  vista  of  unwritten 

1 See  my  “ The  Great  Pacific  Coast.” 

2 “ Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America,” 
London,  1875. 


72  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


history,  and  speculate  who  and  what  they  were 
nor  for  how  many  thousands  of  years  they  have 
been  coming  and  going,  counting  the  winters  and 
the  moons.” 

With  this  last  sentiment,  however,  it  is  rather 
our  business  to  take  issue.  We  are  anxious  to 
know  what  these  and  kindred  peoples  did 
throughout  these  thousands  of  years,  and  whence 
and  how  they  came,  and  it  is  part  of  our  principle 
here  to  think  that  all  these  secrets  are  parts  of 
the  mystery  which  time  will  reveal. 

The  Hydah  people  are  described  as  tall, 
comely,  and  well-formed,  not  inferior  to  any 
in  North-western  America.  In  Vancouver’s 
“ Voyages,”  it  is  stated  that,  in  the  prominence 
of  their  countenance  and  the  regularity  of  their 
features  resembled  the  northern  Europeans. 
Their  complexion  is  pronounced  “ light  when  free 
from  paint,  and  the  women  handsome,  whilst  the 
men  grow  moustaches  sometimes  as  strong  as 
those  of  Europeans.”  They  built  permanent 
houses  in  strong  natural  positions,  one  of  which 
is  described  as  accommodating  seven  hundred 
Indians.  The  buildings  are  often  raised  above 
the  ground  on  a platform  supported  by  posts, 
sometimes  carved  into  human  or  other  figures, 
in  some  cases  25  or  30  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  the  fronts  painted  with  figures  of 
men  and  animals.  Large  images  cut  out  of 
wood,  skilfully  joined  cedar  boards  painted 
with  hieroglyphics,  two  centre  posts,  2\  feet 
in  diameter,  carved  into  human  figures  sup- 
porting two  ridge-poles  on  their  heads  1 2 feet 


1 


To  face  p.  72. 


NORTHERN  STEPPING  STONES  73 


from  the  ground,  are  some  of  the  matters 
noted  by  early  travellers  among  these  people,  as 
quoted  by  Bancroft.  The  Hydahs  are  noted  for 
their  carved  totem  poles,  as  are  the  Tlinkits  of 
the  same  coast,  and  for  their  skill  in  the  construc- 
tion of  their  various  implements,  particularly  for 
sculptures  in  stone  and  ivory  and  slate  carvings. 
“ The  supporting  posts  of  their  probable  temples 
were  carved  into  human  figures  and  all  painted 
red  and  black,  but  the  sculpture  of  these  people 
is  superior  to  their  painting,”  is  the  statement 
about  them  from  Mackenzie’s  “ Voyages.”  They 
were  noted  for  the  beauty  and  size  of  their  cedar 
canoes  and  their  skill  in  carving.  “ These  canoes 
are  dug  out  of  cedar  logs  and  are  sometimes 
60  feet  long,  6|  wide,  and  4^  deep,  accommodat- 
ing one  hundred  men.  The  prow  and  stern  are 
raised  and  often  gracefully  curved  like  a swan’s 
neck,  with  a monster’s  head  at  the  extremity. 
Boats  of  the  better  class  have  their  exteriors 
carved  and  painted,  with  the  gunwale  inlaid  in 
some  cases  with  otter  teeth,  and  they  are  impelled 
rapidly  and  safely  over  the  often  rough  waters 
of  the  coast  inlets,  by  shovel-shaped  paddles,  and 
when  on  shore  are  piled  up  and  covered  with  mats 
against  the  rays  of  the  sun.” 

We  see  how  navigation  naturally  develops 
among  a people  inhabiting  an  indented  coast,  as 
against  that  of  an  open  surf -beat  shore.  The 
early  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  had  no  such 
canoes.  Rafts  and  balsas,  either  of  reeds  or 
inflated  skins,  were  their  only  craft,  as  described 
later.  The  same  may  be  said  for  the  whole 


74  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


barren  coast  of  California  and,  indeed,  of  Mexico. 
Of  course,  the  Peruvians  of  the  coast  had  no 
timber  of  this  character,  for  the  coast  of  Peru 
is  treeless  absolutely.  This  beautiful  cedar  of 
North  America  lends  itself  readily  to  working, 
as  the  traveller  who  has  had  occasion  to  build 
rafts  to  cross  rivers  in  that  part  of  the  world 
will  recollect.  In  the  rivers  that  traverse  the 
dense  forests  and  swamps  on  the  northern  shores 
of  Lake  Michigan,  I observed  with  interest  the 
facility  with  which  cedar  logs  were  fashioned  into 
rafts,  secured  with  hardwood  pegs,  improvising 
a craft  to  cross  the  streams. 

Fleets  of  the  Hydah  canoes  engage  in  trade 
between  the  islands  and  the  mainland,  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  imagine  that  a people  with  such 
powers  of  coastal  navigation  might  be  allied  with 
races  who  would  have  traversed  Behring  Strait, 
or  passed  along  the  natural  stepping-stones  of 
the  Aleutian  Islands  from  Asia  to  America. 
“ One  of  these  canoes  easily  distanced  the 
champion  boat  of  the  American  Navy,  belonging 
to  the  man-of-war  Saranac .” 

Of  similar  characteristics  are  the  Nootkas, 
farther  south,  and  of  Vancouver  Island.  Their 
boats  were  dug-outs  from  pine-trees,  and  held 
forty  or  fifty  men.  “ The  implement  used  for 
weaving  differed  in  no  apparent  respect  from 
the  rude  loom  of  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs.” 
“ They  show  themselves  ingenious  sculptors. 
They  not  only  preserve  with  great  exactness  the 
general  character  of  their  own  faces,  but  finish 
the  more  minute  parts,  with  a degree  of  accuracy 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  75 


and  neatness  ”...  says  Cook,  in  his  “ Voyage 
to  the  Pacific.”  “ The  Indian  mode  of  dancing 
bears  a strange  resemblance  to  that  in  use  among 
the  Chinese.”  1 

The  opening  up  of  the  great  north-west  of 
America,  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  will 
doubtless  give  an  impetus  to  the  study  of  these 
northern  people  and  of  the  Eskimos,  which  latter, 
as  stated,  occupy  the  Atlantic  seaboard  from 
Eastern  Greenland  along  the  whole  of  the 
northern  shore  of  America,  and  across  Behring 
Strait  to  the  Asiatic  shore.  Of  the  numerous 
tribes  of  the  Pacific  slope  of  America  north  of 
Mexico  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  here.  In 
Central  California  the  poorest  and  lowest  races 
of  all  existed,  undistinguished  by  any  arts  save 
the  most  primitive.  “ Yet  the  most  exquisite 
and  artistic  basketry  in  the  world  comes  from 
an  absolutely  uncivilised  tribe  in  California.”  It 
is  to  be  recollected  that  this  is  by  nature  an 
arid  region,  timberless  and  largely  waterless, 
where  the  raw  material  of  life  was  scarce. 

The  cruel,  treacherous,  bloodthirsty,  abomin- 
able, and  thievish  Apache,  the  veritable  devil 
of  those  wild  plains,  inhabited  the  region  imme- 
diately above,  and  partly  within  what  is  now 
Mexico.  “ This  was  a spot,”  said  an  old  Indian 
fighter  of  the  United  States  to  me,  as  we 
journeyed  along  through  that  strange  region  of 
sand  and  sage-brush — not  on  horseback,  how- 
ever, but  on  the  back  platform  of  a Pullman 
car — “ this  was  the  spot  where  one  of  the  early 
1 Bancroft,  ante , who  quotes  from  other  authorities. 


76  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


caravans  was  overwhelmed  by  Apaches,  and  men, 
mutilated  and  disfigured,  were  found  staked  out 
on  the  burning  plains  afterwards  ” — mutilated  in 
that  awful  way  which  was  known  as  the  work  of 
the  Apache  ! Small  wonder  that  this  particular 
breed  of  “ varmint  ” was  hunted  down  and  often 
shot  on  sight.  “ Here,”  says  Bancroft,  “ it  is 
that  we  first  encounter  thieving  as  a profession 
among  these  Western  nations.”  When  we  regard 
the  orange-groves,  the  flower  gardens  and  pas- 
tures, the  brimming  irrigation  canals,  the  elegant 
houses  and  motor-cars  of  the  Anglo-American 
people  who  dwell  in  the  transformed  California 
and  Arizona,  we  shall  indeed  mark  the  contrast. 

How  involved  is  the  question  of  man’s  early 
existence  in  America  is  shown  even  in  a 
very  recent  survey  of  the  subject,  which  it 
will  be  well  to  quote  here,  although  involving 
some  repetition.  We  are  reminded  that  “ the 
absence  of  anthropoid  apes  from  America,  at 
any  period  of  the  world’s  history,  clearly  pre- 
cludes the  possibility  of  man’s  having  originated 
independently  in  the  New  World.”  1 It  is  argued 
that  the  population  of  America  must  have  come 
from  the  Old  World,  and  that  as  any  land-bridge 
across  the  mid-Atlantic,  or  any  connection  of 
South  America  with  the  Antarctic  continent  could 
not  have  lasted  until  the  human  period,  there 
remain  only  the  two  probable  routes — of  a farther 
extension  of  land  between  North  America  and 
Northern  Europe  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of 
the  Behring  Strait  land-bridge  on  the  other.  It 
1 “The  Wanderings  of  Peoples,"  Haddon,  1911. 


INDIANS  OF  VANCOUVER  ISLAND. 


To  face  p.  76. 


NORTHERN  STEPPING-STONES  77 


is  held  that  in  late  Tertiary  times  there  was  a 
land-bridge  connecting  North-West  Europe  with 
Greenland,  and  that  the  reindeer  passed  there- 
over during  early  glacial  times.  Some  authori- 
ties maintain  that  this  land  connection  remained 
until  the  glacial  age  had  passed.  Again,  some 
authorities  consider  that  until  after  the  glacial 
period  the  Pacific  was  open  to  the  Pole,  that  the 
far  north-west  of  America  had  not  yet  risen  from 
the  waves,  so  that  the  Behring  Straits  land-bridge 
and  the  Aleutian  Island  stepping-stones  would 
not  have  been  there  to  help  them.  In  that  case 
“ the  first  inhabitants  of  America  certainly  did 
not  get  there  in  this  way,  for  by  that  time  the 
bones  of  many  generations  were  already  bleach- 
ing on  the  soil  of  the  New  World.”  1 Thus  it 
is  that  even  geology  cannot  give  us  a final  word 
as  to  the  existence  of  this  “ Miocene  Bridge.” 

Of  the  early  Norse  immigration  we  have 
scarcely  spoken.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  did 
occur.  Dr.  Alfred  Russel  Wallace  supports  this, 
amongst  other  authorities,  and  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  me  says  : “ The  early  Norse  immigra- 
tion, or  a still  earlier  one,  by  which  man  entered 
America,  perhaps  accounts  for  the  finer  races 
of  tall  Indians,  with  long,  flowing  hair  and 
aquiline  noses,  now  almost  extinct.”  2 The  recent 
comprehensive  work  of  Dr.  Nansen  also  discusses 
these  early  matters. 3 

The  accounts  of  most  of  the  northern  tribes 

1 Haebler,  “ The  World’s  History,”  1901. 

2 December,  1911. 

3 “ In  Northern  Mists.” 


78  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


of  America,  whilst  giving  place  to  their  virtues 
and  glimmerings  of  art  and  reason,  are  full 
of  descriptions  of  abominable  customs.  In 
these  sexual  matters  figure  largely  always ; 
and  the  way  in  which  many  savage  tribes 
mutilated  and  deformed  the  organs  of  their 
bodies,  by  perforating  their  lips,  noses,  and  ears, 
and  hanging  heavy  objects  therein,  is  among  the 
most  extraordinary  attributes  of  primitive  life. 
It  might  seem  to  bear  out  the  theory  of  some 
mythologists  that  there  was  a period  in  the 
world’s  history  when  all  mankind  was  mad  ! 

It  is  pleasing  to  turn  from  the  people  who 
dwelt  in  very  temporary  structures,  and  of  very 
“ unsettled  ” habits,  to  encounter  races  who  at 
least  built  stone  walls  and,  farther  on,  temples, 
although  the  reflection  will  not  fail  to  occur  to 
us  how,  all  over  the  world,  man  could  build 
the  most  exquisite  structures  of  stone  and  yet 
be  absolutely  barbarous  and  bloodthirsty  to  his 
kind — customs,  indeed,  which  have  not  yet  dis- 
appeared from  the  world.  With  these  reflections 
we  approach  the  region  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers — a 
sort  of  preface  to  Mexico.  We  shall  not  forget, 
however,  the  enormous  extent  of  the  territory 
which,  with  these  brief  references,  we  have 
traversed  from  Behring  Strait  to  the  warm 
climate  of  these  “ aridian  ” cultures,  a distance 
of  some  five  thousand  miles. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 

Western  America — Colorado,  Utah,  and  Arizona — California 
— The  great  American  desert — The  Rocky  Mountains — 
Old  and  new  civilisations — The  Puye  ruins — Mesa 
Verde  National  Park — Remarkable  structures — Unique 
situations — Subterranean  chambers — Cliff  temples  and 
palaces — Connection  with  the  Aztecs — Creation  legends 
— Native  story  of  evolution  — The  Pueblos — Pueblo 
pottery  — Prayers  for  rain  — Delta-lands  — Prehistoric 
irrigation  channels — The  Swastika  in  America — Casas 
Grandes — Frontier  with  Mexico. 

“ From  some  remote  and  unknown  ancestry  there 
grew  to  being  in  the  south-west  of  what  is  now 
the  United  States  of  America  a people  with 
certain  attributes  of  civilisation,  whose  mural 
remains  have  aroused  the  intense  interest  of  the 
archaeologist. ” These  are  the  ruins  of  the  famous 
Cliff  Dwellers  and  prehistoric  irrigationists  en- 
countered in  certain  parts  of  the  States  of 
Colorado,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona. 

Much  has  been  written  concerning  these 
remarkable  ruins  and  the  people  whose  habita- 
tions they  formed,  and  although  nothing  was 
known  of  the  Cliff  dwellings  before  the  latter 
half  of  the  last  century,  much  light  has  been 
shed  upon  them  by  the  scientific  investigations 

79 


80  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


of  recent  years.  The  United  States  Government 
has  taken  an  interest  in  their  preservation  and 
study,  and  some  of  the  principal  groups  of 
ruins  and  the  territories  surrounding  them  are 
now  held  as  national  property.  Further,  the 
growth  of  settled  conditions  among  the  people 
of  these  States,  formed  from  a constant  influx  of 
immigrants  both  from  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Republic  and  from  Europe,  has  caused  these 
unique  ruins  to  be  held  in  value  and  pre- 
served as  objects  of  interest  for  the  citizens  of 
the  American  West.  In  fact,  the  region  has 
become  a national  asset  of  some  importance,  and 
what  was  formerly  an  almost  inaccessible  desert 
is  now  easily  reached  by  railway. 

This  part  of  the  United  States  is  of  a character 
familiar  to  the  traveller  on  the  western  slope  of 
America,  North  or  South.  That  is  to  say,  it  is 
a region  of  scanty  rainfall,  arid,  consisting  of 
vast  stretches  of  desert  broken  by  stony  moun- 
tain ridges  and  deep  canons.  These  features 
alternate  with  valleys  which,  under  the  influence 
of  irrigation  and  the  science  and  energy  of 
modern  farming,  have  become  centres  of  beauty 
and  produce,  to  which  the  generally  cloudless 
sky,  dry  climate,  and  wonderfully  clear  atmo- 
sphere add  that  peculiar  charm  which  these 
regions  possess,  and  which,  once  experienced, 
is  never  forgotten. 

The  early  history  of  this  part  of  the  United 
States  is  a veritable  romance.  It  is  part  of  the 
Americas  which  became  known  by  Spanish  ex- 
plorers and  fell  under  the  sway  of  Spain. 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


81 


Indeed,  it  has  retained,  in  every  point  of  topo- 
graphical nomenclature  to-day,  the  romantic 
stamp  of  Spain.  It  was,  however,  the  lure  of 
mineral  wealth  and  the  fables  of  Golden  Cities 
which  drew  the  Conquistadores  on.  Of  archae- 
ology they  cared  little  ; and  it  is  due  to  their 
successors,  the  Anglo-Americans,  that  exact 
knowledge  was  obtained  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers. 

It  cannot  be  held  to  be  out  of  place  to  con- 
sider this  ancient  culture  area  within  the  caption 
of  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific.  It  is  true  that  the 
region  containing  it  is  a long  way  from  the 
Pacific  Coast,  but  it  is  tributary  thereto,  the  rivers 
traversing  it  being  affluents,  in  the  main,  of  the 
mighty  Colorado,  which  drains  the  southern  por- 
tion of  the  enormous  arid  basin  of  the  “ Great 
American  Desert  ” lying  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevadas  of  California 
and  Oregon.  The  Colorado,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  rivers  in  the  world,  after  its  two- 
thousand  mile  course,  empties  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  or  rather  the  Gulf  of  California,  in 
Mexican  territory  ; and  to  this  great  river  and 
its  Euphrates-like  delta  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  refer  later. 

Nothing  impressed  itself  more  upon  me  in  this 
region  than  the  way  in  which  the  new  civilisa- 
tion of  the  United  States  jostles  the  remains  of 
these  ancient  peoples  and  of  their  successors, 
the  Spaniards.  There  is  no  half-way  house 
between  the  antique  and  romantic  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  new — often  brutally  new— phase 
of  American  commercialism  on  the  other.  Here 

6 


82  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  modern  American  tourist  or  commercialist 
rubs  shoulders  with  the  blanketed  and  sandalled 
Indian.  The  rapid  progress  of  a mechanical  age 
is  lapping  the  bases  of  these  sandstone  cliffs  and 
ancient  seats  of  a community  no  less  industrious 
and  worthy,  perhaps,  in  its  own  time  and  way. 

A glance  at  the  map  of  that  part  of  the  United 
States  shows  that  the  boundaries  of  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Arizona  meet  in  recti- 
linear form  just  to  the  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains ; and  within  a comparatively  short  radius 
from  this  point  the  principal  groups  of  ruins 
of  the  Cliff  dwellings  are  situated.  The  traveller 
can  approach  them  with  ease  by  means  of  that 
remarkable  scenic  line  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railway  from  the  city  of  Denver,  capital 
of  the  State  of  Colorado,  running  southwards  to 
Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  and  then  westward, 
forming  part  of  the  general  railway  system  of 
the  United  States. 

The  Puye  ruins  are  twelve  miles  from  the 
station  of  Espanola,  in  New  Mexico,  and  slightly 
to  the  south  the  Santa  Fe  line  brings  the  traveller 
within  twenty  or  thirty  miles  of  Pajarito,  Otowi, 
Tsankawi,  Navawi,  and  Rito  de  los  Frijoles. 
These  important  groups  are  now  embodied  in 
what  is  termed  the  Pajarito  National  Park.  Still 
in  the  same  State,  at  Aztec,  upon  a branch  line, 
and  about  two  miles  from  the  railway,  are  the 
Aztec  ruins,  forming  part  of  the  immediate  region 
of  the  great  Mesa  Verde  National  Park,  contain- 
ing the  important  Cliff  dwellings  of  the  Mesa 
Verde,  best  reached  from  Mancos  Station,  over 


RUINS  OF  THE  CLIFF-DWELLERS  : CLIFF  PALACE, 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


83 


the  border-line  in  the  State  of  Colorado,  in  which 
this  park  is  situated.  The  term  “ park,”  it  is  to 
be  recollected,  is  employed  simply  to  designate 
what  has  been  declared  a national  or  public  pos- 
session. About  forty-five  miles  from  Dolores 
Station,  also  in  Colorado,  are  canons  containing 
other  groups  of  Cliff  dwellings — the  Holly,  Yellow 
Jacket,  Hovenweep,  and  Cannon  Ball  Canons,1 
whilst  150  miles  away  from  this  station  the 
singular  natural  bridges  of  Utah  are  reached, 
as  also  the  Utah  ruins. 

The  most  important,  and  in  some  respects 
most  remarkable,  seat  of  these  early  inhabitants 
is  the  Mesa  Verde.  The  Mesa  (Spanish)  is  a 
tableland  through  which  the  Mancos  River  has 
carved  a great  canon  with  numerous  lateral 
ravines,  and  here  ruined  towns  and  buildings 
exist  in  situations  so  weird  and  remarkable  as  are 
scarcely  to  be  encountered  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world.  Round  and  square  towers,  community 
houses,  walls  and  fortifications,  subterranean 
chambers  and  sanctuaries,  built  under  the  roofs 
of  mighty  caverns  carved  by  torrential  erosion  in 
ages  past,  form  a spectacle  unique  in  the  world’s 
archaeology.  Chief  among  these  is  the  famous 
Cliff  Palace  of  which  an  illustration  is  here 
given.  The  region  of  the  Mesa  is  formed  of  a 
great  sandstone  strata,  which  has  been  eroded  into 
these  fantastic  gorges  and  caverns,  presenting 
from  the  distance  a flat-topped  tableland.  The 
Mancos  River,  coming  from  the  north-east, 
enters  the  canon  bearing  its  name  and  flows  into 
1 See  “ Handbook  of  American  Indians,”  Washington,  1907. 


84  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  San  Juan  River,  a tributary  of  the  great  Rio 
Colorado. 

The  Pajarito  plateau,  a formation  of  vast  age 
whose  soft  rock  has  been  sculptured  by  the 
erosine  action  of  wind  and  water  into  masses 
which  may  be  described  as  geological  islands, 
occupies  an  area  of  perhaps  five  hundred  square 
miles  on  the  west  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and 
on  the  tops  of  these  mesas  and  in  the  faces  of 
the  cliffs  are  the  remains  of  almost  countless 
groups  of  the  old  Community  Houses.  Those  on 
the  mesa  tops  were  typically  arranged  in  quad- 
rangles of  four-terraced  houses,  surrounding  a 
squarish  court,  which  could  be  entered  only  by 
a single  narrow  passage-way.  These  quad- 
rangular structures  consisted  of  many  rooms 
arranged  in  series,  side  by  side,  and  also  in 
terraces  to  the  height  of  several  stories.  The 
great  community  house  at  Puye  must  have  been 
four  stories  high,  and  contained  from  ten  to  twelve 
hundred  rooms,  whilst  against  the  cliffs  below 
were  built  extensive  villages  that  housed  hun- 
dreds of  people.  The  entire  plateau  from  the 
Chama  river  south  for  forty  miles,  is  covered 
with  similar  remains.  The  Cliff  Houses  alone,  or 
rather  the  cliffs  containing  them,  if  placed  in  a 
single  line,  would  extend  for  over  one  hundred 
miles.1  The  culmination  of  all  the  ancient  Cliff 
cities  of  this  region  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Rito 
de  los  Frijoles.  Here  the  ruins  are  built  in  a 

1 “ Ancient  Ruins  of  the  South-West,”  E.  L.  Hewett, 
Archaeological  Institute  of  America  ; a pamphlet  issued  by 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grand  Railway. 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


85 


canon,  500  feet  deep,  but  as  difficult  of  access  as 
the  mesa  fortresses  last  described  ; and  scattered 
along  this  gorge  are  fifteen  villages.  This 
ancient  community  bore  the  name  of  Tyuonyj, 
and  its  centre  was  the  great  community  house, 
roughly  circular,  three  stories  high,  in  terraces, 
and  containing  originally  eight  hundred  or  nine 
hundred  rooms,  its  inner  court  being  entered  by 
a single  narrow  passage . Another  group  of 
ancient  towns  is  that  of  the  Chaco  Canon  in  New 
Mexico — great  houses,  standing  in  the  open, 
some  five  stories  high,  of  sandstone  blocks,  in 
some  cases  arranged  in  courses  of  varying  thick- 
ness so  as  to  produce  decorative  effects.  The 
best  known  of  these  unprotected  structures  is 
Pueblo  Bonito,  a huge  building  five  stories  high, 
semi-circular  in  form,  its  walls  still  standing  to 
a height  of  over  40  feet.  Other  ruins  surround 
it,  all  in  the  midst  of  a desolate  plain  of  the 
Navajo  Desert,  almost  devoid  of  water  now,  and 
incapable  of  supporting  any  population  except 
wandering  Navajo  Indians.  One  of  the  greatest 
of  these  ancient  ruins  is  that  near  Aztec,  similar 
to  that  of  the  Chaco  Canon.  This  is  a community 
house,  which  must  have  contained  several  hun- 
dred rooms  in  several  stories,  how  many  it  is  not 
possible  to  determine.  Some  of  the  rooms  are 
still  completely  preserved,  and  floor,  walls,  and 
ceilings  and  fireplaces  exactly  in  the  condition 
left  by  their  ancient  dwellers,  the  timbers  used 
in  construction  of  the  ceilings  being  in  a perfect 
state  of  preservation. 

There  are  other  ruins  of  ancient  towns  almost 


86  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


equally  important  in  these  regions.  Many  of 
these  groups  are  worthy  the  name  of  towns  and 
even  “ cities,”  for  there  must  have  been  in  them 
elements  of  collective  order,  of  well-controlled 
community  life  and  public  interests  with  con- 
siderable populations.  It  is  not  a matter  for 
surprise  that  these  ruined  towns,  towers,  round 
and  square  and  subterranean  sanctuaries,  set 
amid  these  extraordinary  cliffs  and  ravines  should 
have  been  the  theme  of  romantic  and  even  absurd 
stories.  It  is  not  permissible  to  term  the  people 
who  built  these  structures  a “ vanished  ” race,  as 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  they  were  to  some 
extent  the  forerunners  of  the  present  Indian 
people.  As  to  the  time  of  their  building  this  is 
obscure,  but  the  Cliff  cities  were  in  ruins  at  the 
Spanish  advent.  The  date  of  their  abandonment 
might  be  suggested  as  from  eight  to  ten  centuries 
ago,  but  even  this  is  conjectural.  The  problem 
of  their  inhabitants’  disappearance  has  not  been 
solved.  They  differed  anatomically  in  important 
respects  from  the  present  Pueblo  Indians,  being 
narrow-headed,  whilst  the  latter  are  broad- 
headed,  it  is  stated,  and  in  the  symbols  and 
decorations  on  their  pottery.  As  shown  in  an 
illustration  later,  the  patterns  on  pottery  in  some 
cases  embodied  the  “ Greek  ” pattern,  so  freely 
encountered  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  Peru, 
and  in  Asiatic  and  European  regions.  A device 
on  another  specimen  of  Cliff  Dweller  pottery, 
illustrated  here,  shows  what  might  be  an  “ astro- 
nomical cross.”  A large  population  must  have 
occupied  these  regions  in  prehistoric  times,  judg- 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


87 


ing  by  the  great  extent  of  the  ruins  ; places 
where  to-day  large  communities  could  not  be 
supported,  as,  for  example,  in  the  Chaco  Canon. 
Here,  in  the  midst  of  a sandy  plain,  now  water- 
less except  for  the  very  short  rains  of  the  summer 
season,  are  seen  ancient  irrigating  ditches  of  con- 
siderable extent,  indicating  that,  at  the  time  of 
their  construction,  the  climate  must  have  been 
a different  one.  Indeed,  geological  evidence 
points  to  a slow  drying-up  of  the  whole  south- 
west region,  and  doubtless  a gradual  exodus  of 
these  ancient  people  took  place  by  reason  of 
increasing  drought — the  story  over  again  of 
ancient  peoples  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  and,  indeed, 
in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

What  is  the  connection,  if  such  there  was, 
between  the  Cliff  Dwellers  of  Arizona  and  the 
culture  of  Mexico  ? There  is  considerable 
evidence,  it  is  held  by  those  authorities  who  have 
closely  studied  this  field  of  interinfluence,  of 
contact  between  them,  and,  indeed,  of  the  early 
existence  of  some  common  source  of  origin  of 
culture-factors.  One  of  the  principal  authorities  1 
on  the  ethnic  history  of  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
and  the  Pueblo  culture  area  adjacent  holds  it 
to  be  probable  that  both  Mexican  and  Pueblo 
cultures  originated  in  Northern  Mexico,  develop- 
ing as  far  as  its  environment  permitted  towards 
the  north  and  the  south.  In  the  north  it  pro- 
duced the  Cliff  Dwellers,  in  the  south  the 
advanced  temple  architecture  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  hieroglyphs,  and  other  adjuncts 
^Dr.  Fewkes. 


88  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


of  the  Mexican  civilisations.  The  same  authority 
traces  the  great  serpent  cult  of  Tusayan,  the 
“ New  Fire,”  and  other  ceremonials  of  the 
Pueblo  peoples,  as  well  as  some  of  their  fine 
handicraft,  examples  of  which  have  been  re- 
covered from  the  Pueblo  ruins,  such  as  earrings 
and  breast  ornaments,  whose  workmanship  equals 
that  of  the  famous  Mexican  work,  to  the  same 
source. 

This  great  arid  region  of  the  south-western 
part  of  the  United  States,  indeed,  appears  to  have 
held  some  mysterious  centre  or  dispersing-point 
for  these  early  civilisations,  or  the  ideas  which 
motived  them.  It  is  to  be  recollected  that  the 
wandering  tribes  of  the  Mexicas  who  peopled  the 
valley  of  Mexico,  from  the  Toltecs  to  the  Aztecs, 
came  from  some  unknown  place  in  the  north. 
A suspicion  might  easily  rise  in  the  mind  of  the 
student,  of  some  long-past,  unknown  arrival  of 
cultured  immigrants  upon  the  American  coast 
at  this  point  : some  voyagers  from  Asia,  perhaps, 
who  either  by  accident  or  design  had  crossed 
the  ocean.  This  cannot  be  held  to  be  the  realm 
of  pure  speculation,  and  must  be  considered  in 
conjunction  with  what  has  been  said  elsewhere 
as  to  the  passage  over  the  ocean  of  junks  from 
Asia.  Perhaps  the  “ seven  grottoes  or  caves  ” of 
the  Toltec  legend  were  seven  ships  ! 

As  to  the  connection  between  Mexico  and  the 
Cliff  Dwellers,  it  is  stated  that  only  one  Pueblo 
language — the  Moqui  or  Hopi  of  North-Eastern 
Arizona — shows  positive  relationship  with  the 
great  Nahuatl  tongue  of  ancient  Mexico.  There 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


89 


was  a linguistic  unity  between  the  civilised  Aztec 
and  the  savage  Shoshones  and  Ute  family,  some 
of  whose  offshoots  wandered  as  far  as  Costa 
Rica,  and  even  possibly  to  Panama,  which 
“ forms  one  of  the  most  interesting  ethnological 
facts  in  prehistoric  America,”  according  to 
authorities  upon  the  subject. 

Creation  legends  in  considerable  variety  exist 
among  the  aborigines  of  North  America,  as 
indeed  of  South  America,  and  some  of  these  are 
mentioned  together  in  a subsequent  chapter.  It 
will  be  well  to  include  here,  however,  the  striking 
Creation  story  of  the  Zuni  Indians,  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  among  all  the  North  American 
Indian  legends.  It  is  given  by  Cushing  in  the 
“ Outlines  of  Zuni  Creation  Myths,”  and  well 
summarised  in  the  article  in  the  last  edition  of 
the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  which  I quoted 
in  another  chapter.  The  principal  figure  is 
“ Awonawilona,”  the  “ Maker  and  container  of 
all,”  and  the  growth-substance  the  “ fogs  of  in- 
crease ” which  he  evolved  by  his  thinking  in 
the  pristine  night.  The  long  story  of  the  origin 
of  the  sun,  the  earth,  and  the  sky,  and  the  taking 
form  of  the  “ seed  of  men  and  all  creafures  ” 
in  the  lowest  of  the  caves  or  four  wombs  of 
the  world,  and  their  long  journey  to  light  and 
real  life  on  the  present  earth  is  a wonderful  story 
of  evolution  as  conceived  by  the  primitive  mind  : 
an  aboriginal  epic,  in  fact,  says  this  writer. 

The  Zuni  or  Pueblo  Indians  are  those  who 
occupy  to-day  the  twelve  Pueblos  in  New 
Mexico,  and  they  are  descendants  of  the  Cliff 


90  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Dwellers  whose  remarkable  handiwork  we  have 
considered  in  this  chapter. 

The  mythology  of  the  Californians  was  charac- 
terised by  the  absence,  not  only  of  migration 
traditions  but  of  ancestor  traditions.1  Of  their 
rites  and  prayers  many  were  concerned  with  the 
need  for  rain  : and  that,  indeed,  might  well  be 
the  supplication  of  the  Western  Americans, 
ancient  or  modern  ! Nothing  in  this  region  of 
Western  America,  from  Arizona  and  Utah  to 
California,  impresses  the  traveller  more  than  the 
dependence  of  the  country  upon  water  for  irri- 
gation ; and  the  marvellous  results  secured 
thereby,  in  turning  tracts  of  apparently  arid  and 
useless  territory  into  fields  and  gardens  bowered 
with  profuse  flowers  and  trees  of  every  luscious 
kind  of  fruit,  whose  seeds  or  scions  have  been 
culled  from  every  part  of  the  globe,  from 
Britain  to  Arabia. 

The  ancient  delta-lands  of  the  south-western 
region  of  the  United  States  are  of  great  interest 
ethnologically,  for  here  a prehistoric  people  culti- 
vated the  land  and  made  conduits  for  irrigating 
it ; and  a considerable  population  must  have 
flourished  there  in  pre-Columbian  days.  The 
first  white  settlers,  forty  years  ago,  easily  distin- 
guished the  boundaries  of  these  ancient  fields, 
and  the  lines  of  the  irrigating  channels  which 
long  ago  brought  the  life-giving  fluid  on  to  the 
thirsty  land,  and  many  of  these  remains  are  still 
to  be  seen.  This  region,  drained  by  the  great 
Colorado  River  and  its  tributaries,  is  indeed  well 
1 According  to  Kroebor. 


KUINS  OF  THE  CLIFF-DWELLERS,  SOUTH-EASTERN  UTAH.  POTTERY  FROM  THE  CUFF-DWELLINGS. 


THE  CLIFF  DWELLERS 


91 


termed  the  Asia  Minor  of  America,  and  has  in 
its  physical  characteristics  and  the  regimen  of 
its  streams  much  in  common  with  the  Nile  and 
the  Euphrates.  The  river  is  silting  up  the  head 
of  the  Gulf  of  California,  much  as  the  Euphrates 
has  filled  its  delta  throughout  the  ages.  Here 
also — like  Jordan — are  streams,  villages,  and 
plantations,  on  tracts  of  land  250  feet  below  the 
level  of  the  sea. 

Mention  must  not  be  omitted  here  of  the 
occurrence  of  the  Swastika  in  this  part  of 
America.  As  the  traveller  passes  through 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico  he  will  find  offered 
for  sale  by  curio-dealers  these  little  luck-charms, 
whose  form  or  symbol  is  of  such  world-wide 
occurrence.  A discussion  of  the  significance  of 
the  Swastika  is  given  in  a subsequent  chapter. 
Some  students  have  endeavoured  to  trace  the 
original  habitat  of  the  American  Indians  by 
means  of  this  symbol,  which  leads  to  every  land 
almost,  both  in  the  Old  World  and  the  New, 
from  Tibet,  Persia,  and  China  to  Colorado  and 
Peru  ; and  especially  is  it  looked  upon  as  show- 
ing Buddhist  connection  or  influence.  In  North 
America  the  Utes,  Navajos,  Pueblos,  Pimas, 
Apaches,  and  others  knew  of  it,  and  figured  it 
on  their  robes.  A good  specimen  of  a prehistoric 
Swastika  exists  in  the  museum  at  Denver,  Colo- 
rado, and  on  a bowl  taken  from  the  ruins  of 
the  Cliff  Dwellers  in  Manco  Canon  there  are 
fourteen  Swastikas  depicted. 

Before  entering  upon  the  Mexican  culture  it 
will  be  well  to  conclude  here  by  noticing  the 


92  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


ruins  of  Casas  Grandes  — Spanish  for  “ Great 
Houses  ” — which  are  in  Mexico  close  to  the 
American  border  and  upon  the  railway  from 
Ciudad  Juarez  on  the  frontier.  They  are  pre- 
historic buildings  of  adobe  and  gravel,  whose 
origin  is  unknown,  as  they  were  in  ruins  and 
abandoned  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  The 
principal  building  extends  for  800  feet  from 
north  to  south  and  250  feet  from  east  to  west, 
with  walls  up  to  5 feet  thick:.  These  walls  in 
places  are  40  to  50  feet  high  and  appear  to 
have  been  of  six  or  seven  stories,  with  apartments 
varying  in  size  from  mere  closets  to  large 
courts.  Not  far  from  this  building  are  the 
foundations  of  a smaller  edifice  with  a series  of 
rooms  ranged  round  a square  court ; whilst  the 
whole  district  is  studded  with  artificial  mounds 
from  which  excavation  yields  stone  axes,  metates, 
or  meal-grinders,  and  pottery  of  a much  better 
character  than  the  modern  native  pottery  of  the 
country. 

From  these  regions  of  the  south-west  of  the 
United  States  to  the  seat  of  the  Aztec  and 
pre -Aztec  cultures  is  a great  distance,  nearly 
one  thousand  miles,  with  very  fragmentary 
patches  indicating  the  culture  of  prehistoric 
peoples.  The  northernmost  stone  monument 
in  Mexico  is  at  Quemada  in  the  State  of 
Zacatecas,  and  this  seems  to  mark  some 
frontier,  real  or  imaginary,  where  the  feebler 
civilisation  of  the  builders  of  adobe  structures 
ended  and  the  more  virile  culture  of  the  stone- 
building people  began. 


CHAPTER  VI 

EARLY  MEXICO  : TOLTECS  AND  AZTECS 

Character  of  early  Mexico  — Bloodthirsty  religion  — The 
problem  of  its  origin  — The  Toltecs  — The  famous 
god  — Picture-writing — Early  history — Mexican  mural 
remains  — The  Teocallis  — Stone  of  sacrifice  — Awful 
women  goddesses — Analogy  with  Babylon — Pyramids  of 
the  sun  and  the  moon  — Teotihuacan — Pottery  and 
acoustics  — Other  pyramids  — Cholula  and  Papantla — 
Remarkable  structures  of  Monte  Alban — The  Zapotecs — 
Sculptured  halls  of  Mitla  — Ruins  in  Guerrero  and 
Tehuantepec — Unexplored  territory — The  dawn  of  a 
literature  — Mexican  calendar  — Aztec  religion  — The 
prayer  of  Nezahualcoyotl  to  the  Creator — The  “ Un- 
known God.” 

The  name  of  Mexico  brings  a vivid  picture 
before  the  mind  of  the  traveller  who  has 
sojourned  in  that  romantic  land,  a land  which 
possesses  features  so  unique  as  to  preserve  to  it 
an  individuality  and  colour  all  its  own. 

As  I write  it  I seem  to  hear  the  creaking 
of  my  sun -warmed  saddle,  and  to  scent  the 
pungent  odour  of  adobe  dust,  rising  from  white 
trails  in  an  impalpable  flour  as  my  horse’s  hoofs 
stir  it  up.  Here  is  the  humble,  courteous,  cotton- 
clad  peon,  with  brown  face  and  sandalled  feet, 
the  “ Hispano-Egyptian  ” denizen  of  the  New 

93 


94  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


World  as  we  may  term  him  and  perhaps  not 
be  far  wrong. 

Mexico  is  a land  of  thorny  cactus  and  arid 
steppe,  of  fertile  valley  and  succulent  fruits,  of 
prehistoric  pyramid  and  temple  set  upon  sun-beat 
plains  or  on  precipitous  ridges,  or  buried  in  the 
depths  of  tangled  and  impenetrable  tropic  forest. 
Mexico,  where  man  has  striven  bloodily  against 
his  fellow-man  till  the  very  earth  must  cry  to 
heaven  for  peace : bloodshed  in  sacrifice  to 
awful  gods  before  the  Spaniard,  with  sword  and 
cross,  shed  it  more  plenteously  still,  and  after- 
wards as  the  jealousies  of  an  evolving  nation 
poured  it  out  fratricidally. 

It  is  not,  however,  a tale  of  blood  that  we 
desire  to  tell,  but  of  a strange  civilisation  that 
flourished  under  the  blue  skies  of  Anahuac — 
“ the  land  amid  the  waters,”  as  Mexico  was 
termed  by  its  ancient  masters — of  which  Europe 
knew  nothing. 

The  beginning  of  history  in  Mexico  is  wrapped 
in  fable  and  mystery.  The  Spaniards,  when  they 
reached  this  part  of  the  American  mainland  from 
the  West  India  Islands,  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  found,  not  rude  and  simple  tribes  such 
as  they  had  so  easily  overcome  in  the  Antilles, 
but  a warrior-nation  who,  but  for  the  credulity 
to  which  their  superstition  gave  rise,  might  have 
successfully  resisted  them.  They  found  a system 
of  civilisation,  armies,  law-givers,  courts  of 
justice,  agriculture,  and  mechanical  arts, 
astonishing  to  them  and  undreamt  of,  the  civilisa- 
tion of  an  organised  people,  dwelling  in  moun- 


EARLY  MEXICO 


95 


tain-surrounded  valleys  and  impregnable  lake- 
fortresses.  But  what  surprised  the  invading 
white  men  most  were  the  wonderful  examples 
of  this  unknown  people’s  stone-shaping  art. 
They  found  an  architecture  of  such  elaboration 
and  ingenuity  as  astonished  the  builders  of 
Europe  of  that  time,  just  as  it  continues  to 
astonish  the  traveller  to-day. 

Here  was  a vastly  interesting  problem.  Some 
of  the  Spanish  writers  1 when  they  saw  the  great 
fossil  bones  found  in  Mexico,  thought  that  the 
country  had  been  peopled  by  giants  from  the  Old 
World,  before  the  deluge  (just  as  it  has  been 
said  of  Easter  Island  and  its  huge  stone  statues, 
later  described).  Again,  it  was  conjectured, 
due  to  the  great  number  of  native  American 
languages,  that  a migration  to  America  had 
followed  on  the  famous  dispersion  after  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  and  one  Spanish  writer  2 held 
that  the  early  Mexicans  must  have  been 
descended  from  Naphtuhim,  Noah’s  grandson, 
who  left  Egypt — according  to  him  for  Mexico 
— after  the  confusion  of  tongues. 

The  splendid  collection  of  the  native  traditions 
and  examples  of  picture-writing  printed  at  great 
cost  last  century  by  Lord  Kingsborough,  who 
spent  a fortune  to  prove  the  supposition  of 
a Spanish  historian  3 that  the  Mexicans  were  the 
“ lost  ten  tribes  of  Israel,”  has  been  of  great 
value  to  archaeologists,  not  by  reason  of  the 
singular  theory  but  from  their  preservation  in 
his  book,  the  “ Antiquities  of  Mexico.”  But  one 

1 Hernandez  and  Acosta.  1 Siguenza.  3 Garcia. 


96  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


of  the  most  valuable  of  native  Mexican  docu- 
ments is  the  “ Codex  Chimalpopoca  ” which  was 
discovered,  interpreting  the  Mexican  picture- 
writings.1 

The  Toltecs  are  the  people  to  whom  the 
greatest  culture  in  prehistoric  Mexico  is  attri- 
buted— a vague  and  shadowy  people  of  whom  we 
know  very  little.  Their  empire  or  dominion 
extended  from  the  Atlantic  side  of  Mexico,  at 
Vera  Cruz  and  Tabasco,  westward  to  the  Great 
Plateau,  and  even  beyond  towards  the  Pacific. 
Indeed,  Mexican  writers  of  to-day  point  to 
Toltec  ruins  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  especially 
at  Tepic,  which  was  a Toltec  centre.  The  town 
of  Tollan  or  Tula,  however,  about  fifty  miles 
north  of  the  modern  city  of  Mexico,  is  generally 
given  as  their  principal  centre. 

Much  discussion  has  centred  about  the 
Toltecs,  and  the  assumption  has  been  made  that 
they  were  a distinct  race.  Another  hypothesis  is 
that  they  belonged  to  the  Maya  group,  and  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  they  represented  a 
much  earlier  civilisation  than  the  builders  of 
Palenque,  Quirigua,  and  Copan,  the  famous 
Yucatan  and  Central  American  ruins,  later 
described.  The  Aztecs  were,  of  course,  sub- 
sequent to  the  Toltecs  and  undoubtedly  adopted 
their  civilisation,  including  their  religion,  archi- 
tecture in  part,  and  calendar. 

The  Toltecs  were  the  builders  of  the  great 
pyramids  of  Mexico,  including  Teotihuacan,  near 
the  present  city  of  Mexico  ; those  of  Papantla, 
1 By  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg. 


2*39** 


TOLTEC  PYRAMID  OF  THE  SUN  AT  TEOTIHUACAN,  VALLEY  OF  MEXICO. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


97 


Huatusco,  and  Tuzapan,  in  the  State  of  VeraCruz, 
and  of  Cholula.  The  famous  calendar  system  is 
of  Toltec  origin,  it  is  held,  and  also  the  art  of 
picture-writing  and  the  metallurgical  and  textile 
arts.  Indeed,  much  fascinating  lore  surrounds 
the  Toltecs,  and  associated  with  them  is  the 
famous  Quetzalcoatl,  familiar  to  all  students  of 
Mexican  legend.  Quetzalcoatl  is  described  as 
a great  deity,  a god  of  the  air,  a saintly  ruler  and 
civiliser  ; in  appearance  like  a white  man  ; of 
noble  features  and  precepts,  bearded,  and  of 
another  race,  who  came  from  the  north  out  of 
the  unknown,  and,  after  dwelling  for  twenty 
years  among  the  people,  disappeared  “ into  the 
Anahuac,”  the  waters  to  the  east,  or  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  He  left  behind  him  the  message  that 
a race  of  white,  bearded  men  like  himself  should 
come  from  the  direction  of  the  sunrise  to  rule 
the  country.  It  was  largely  due  to  this  prophecy 
and  the  credulity  of  the  Aztec  emperor  Monte- 
zuma, consequent  thereon,  that  when  the 
Spaniards  arrived  they  seemed  to  be  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  prophecy,  and  so  were  freely 
admitted  into  the  country.  But  it  is  not  our 
purpose  here  to  go  farther  into  this  history. 

The  picture-writing  of  Mexico  was  in  daily 
use  at  the  Spanish  advent.  It  is  to  be  recol- 
lected that  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  made 
pictures  of  the  ships,  horses,  and  guns  of  Cortes 
and  the  Spaniards  when  they  arrived  at  Vera 
Cruz  ; which  were  instantly  dispatched  by  swift 
runners,  by  the  system  of  post-relays  in  vogue 
in  Mexico,  to  Montezuma  in  his  stronghold  of 

7 


98  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Tenochtitlan  beyond  the  Sierra  Madre — the  city 
of  Mexico  of  to-day  (see  page  1 1 5 ). 

The  accounts  of  Bernal  Diaz,  Cortes,  and 
others  show  that  the  Spaniards  were  vastly  im- 
pressed with  the  evidences  of  wealth  and 
advancement  of  the  Aztecs,  and  even  allowing 
for  the  inevitable  exaggeration  of  men  who 
wished  to  impress  their  monarch  and  stay-at- 
home  countrymen,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  true 
impression  they  received.  Readers  of  Prescott’s 
inspiring  work  will  be  able  to  share  this,  but 
they  must  be  warned  that  his  accounts  may  seem 
in  some  respects  highly  coloured  to  the  traveller 
who  knows  the  country  and  has  studied  its 
probabilities. 

The  history  of  Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  Con- 
quest, and  prior  thereto,  is  known  with  consider- 
able accuracy,  and  is  founded  upon  the  accounts 
of  Cortes  and  his  companions,  Bernal  Diaz  and 
others,  also  upon  the  writings  of  the  Spanish- 
educated  Mexican  historian  of  that  period. 

The  history  of  the  ancient  civilisation  of  Mexico 
and  Central  America  is  worthy  of  more  respect 
than  to  be  considered  a mere  record  of  the  doings 
of  savage  tribes.  In  their  ideographs  the 
Mexicans  so  far  approached  real  writing  as  to 
set  down  legibly  the  names  of  persons  and  places 
and  the  dates  of  events.  These  were  valuable 
aids  to  the  professional  historian  in  remembering 
the  traditions  which  were  repeated  orally  from 
generation  to  generation.  As  it  is,  actual  docu- 
ments of  native  Aztec  history,  or  copies  of  them, 
are  available  to-day  to  the  student.  After  the 


EARLY  MEXICO 


99 


Spanish  conquest  interpretations  of  these  docu- 
ments and  codices  were  drawn  up  in  writing  by 
Spanish-educated  Mexicans,  and  more  or  less 
authentic  histories  were  founded  on  them,  with 
the  aid  of  spoken  traditions,  by  the  Aztec-Spanish 
historians,  Ixtlilxochitl  and  Tezozomoc.  In 
Central  America  on  some  of  the  monuments  rows 
of  complex  hieroglyphs  are  to  be  seen  sculptured 
on  the  walls  of  ruined  temples,  and  these  prob- 
ably served  a similar  historical  purpose.  Among 
the  most  remarkable  documents  of  early  America 
is  the  famous  Popol-Vuh,  or  national  book  of  the 
Quiche  kingdom  of  Guatemala,  which  has  been 
translated.  This  is  described  in  a subsequent 
chapter. 

The  various  nations  inhabiting  Anahuac,  as  the 
region  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico  and  its  approaches 
was  termed,  appear  to  have  been  detachments 
of  some  widespread  race  speaking  the  nahuatl 
language,  which  was  the  general  tongue,  and 
the  native  records  and  traditions  represent  these 
immigrants  as  having  come  “ from  the  north,” 
some  place  whose  locality  it  is  not  possible  to 
determine.  The  Toltecs  were  the  first  to  arrive, 
and  tradition  has  it  that  they  ultimately  became 
disseminated  by  drought,  pestilence,  and  famine, 
and  that  the  survivors  migrated  to  Central 
America  and  Yucatan  in  the  eleventh  century. 
Other  detachments  or  tribes  followed  at  varying 
periods  from  the  same  mysterious  northern 
region,  and  last  of  all  were  the  Aztecs,  whose 
finding  of  a site  for  a city  is  the  subject  of  the 
well-known  legend  of  the  eagle,  cactus,  and 


100  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


serpent,1  still  commemorated  on  the  Mexican 
coins.  The  history  of  Mexico  and  the  legends 
connected  therewith  are  of  fascinating  interest, 
but  it  is  not  the  purpose  to  dwell  thereon  here. 
The  city  the  Aztecs  founded  about  1325  was 
called  Tenochtitlan,  and  was  upon  the  site  of  the 
present  capital.  It  was  in  great  part  destroyed 
by  Cortes  and  his  Spaniards  after  the  fearful 
conflicts  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.2 

The  accounts  of  the  magnificence  of  the  Aztec 
capital  by  the  Spaniards  were  undoubtedly  highly 
drawn.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  Cortes 
and  his  men  to  have  destroyed  the  place  so  com- 
pletely if  it  had  been  of  the  solid  character 
described  by  them,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
only  the  principal  buildings  were  of  stone,  the 
inhabitants  dwelling  in  adobe  or  wattle  huts. 
Nevertheless,  those  buildings  and  monuments 
which  were  of  stone  were  a sufficient  basis  for 
the  Spaniards’  surprise  and  admiration.  The 
principal  palace  of  the  Aztec  Montezuma,  who 
was  reigning  at  that  time,  consisted  of  “ hundreds 
of  rooms  ranged  round  three  open  squares,  of 
such  extent  that  one  of  the  companions  of  Cortes 
records  having  four  times  wandered  about  till 
he  was  tired,  without  seeing  the  whole.” 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  in  passing,  that  this 
kind  of  ground  plan  to  some  extent  characterises 
the  Inca  ruins  of  Huanuco  Viejo,  in  Peru,  which 
are  described  elsewhere,  and  of  other  Inca  ruins. 

No  vestiges  of  this  great  palace  remain  to- 

1 See  illustration  in  my  “ Mexico.” 

* See  my  “ Mexico.” 


EARLY  MEXICO 


101 


day,  except  it  be  in  the  portions  of  massive 
foundation  occasionally  unearthed.  Similarly 
has  the  great  teocalli  disappeared  which  occupied 
what  is  now  the  main  plaza  of  the  capital.  This, 
the  great  pyramid  of  the  bloody  War  God  Huitzi- 
lopochtli,  was  of  rubble  cased  with  hewn  stone, 
measuring  375  feet  by  300  feet  on  its  base,  and 
rose  steeply  in  fine  terraces  to  a height  of  more 
than  75  feet.  The  Mexican  idols — huge  sculp- 
tured blocks — are  to  be  seen  in  the  museum  to- 
day. These  pyramid-temples,  the  teocallis  or 
gods’  houses,  “ rivalled  in  size  as  they  resembled 
in  form  the  temples  of  ancient  Babylon,”  1 and 
they  were  encountered'  and  still  exist  in  various 
parts  of  Mexico.  Carved  “ serpent  walls  ” sur- 
rounded the  great  teocalli  of  the  capital. 

The  pyramids  were  truncated,  the  summit 
platform  forming  the  site  of  a temple,  and  during 
the  religious  performances  a long  procession  of 
priests  and  victims  was  seen  by  the  populace 
below  winding  along  the  terraces  and  up  the 
corner  flights  of  steps.  On  the  summit  platforms 
of  these  pyramids  there  stood  three-story  tower 
temples,  in  which,  upon  the  ground  floor,  were 
the  stone  images  and  altars.  Before  the  image 
of  the  War  God  stood  the  sacrificial  stone,  here 
illustrated,  which  the  traveller  may  see  in  the 
museum  of  Mexico  to-day.  This  stone  was 
curved  so  as  to  bend  upwards  the  body  of  the 
victim  in  order  that  the  priest  might  more  readily 
slash  open  the  breast  with  his  obsidian  knife. 
The  heart  was  then  torn  out,  beating,  and  held 
1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Mexico.” 


102  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


up  to  the  god,  while  the  captor  and  his  friends 
waited  below  the  pyramid  for  the  body  to  be 
thrown  down  the  steps.  This  they  took  home 
to  be  cooked  for  the  feast  of  victory.  These 
abominable  shrines  reeked  with  the  stench  of 
slaughter,  and  in  them  the  eternal  fires  were 
burning.  Upon  the  platform  outside  the  temple 
stood  the  huge  Aztec  drum,  its  parchment  formed 
of  snakes’  skins  ; and  when  beaten  its  fearful 
sound  was  heard  for  miles.  The  ascent  of  Cortes 
to  this  pyramid — that  of  the  capital— was 
dramatic  in  the  extreme.1 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  object  of  the 
Aztec  culture  remaining  is  the  image — of 
appalling  aspect — of  the  “ Goddess  of  the  Dead,” 
a horrible  monster  which  it  is  supposed  was 
placed  on  the  altar  of  the  great  Teocalli  of 
Mexico,  which  Cortes  and  the  Spaniards 
destroyed.  It  was  found  in  the  great  plaza  or 
square  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  where  the  Teocalli 
or  pyramid-temple  stood,  and  is  now  in  the 
Mexican  National  Museum.  It  was  an  emblem 
of  the  Nahua  theogony,  in  form  of  a woman,  the 
head  formed  of  a union  of  two  serpents,  the 
arms  of  serpents,  and  clothed  in  a saya  or  skirt 
of  serpents.  On  the  breast  of  the  other  side  of  the 
image  also  are  sculptured  four  human  hands,  and 
it  is  supposed  this  idol  represented  the  Goddess  of 
War,  who  took  the  souls  of  those  lost  in  battle, 
the  mother  of  Huitzilopochtli,  the  bloody  War 
God  of  the  Mexicans.  This  astonishing  and 
repulsive  figure  is  sculptured  out  of  hard  trachyte, 
1 The  fullest  account  of  these  matters  is  in  Prescott. 


THE  AZTEC  STONE  OF  SACRIFICE. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


103 


and  is  feet  high.  The  back  of  the  figure  is 
shown  in  the  illustration  (see  frontispiece). 

The  famous  sacrificial  stone  is  also  of  trachyte, 
8 feet  9 inches  in  diameter  and  2 feet  io  inches 
high.  In  the  centre  is  a small  cavity  with  a groove 
running  therefrom,  in  which  ran  the  blood  of  the 
human  victims  ; and  there  are  marks  on  the  stone 
made  by  the  hackings  of  the  obsidian  knives 
used  by  the  priests  in  these  horrible  sacrifices, 
as  before  described.  Around  the  side  of  the 
stone  are  beautifully  sculptured  figures,  repre- 
senting probably  matters  connected  with  the 
Aztec  cosmogony,  having  some  similarity  with 
those  of  the  Calendar  stone. 

The  Mexicans  were  a military  people — mili- 
tarism based  upon  their  religion,  and  they  were 
indeed  “ bloody-minded  ” people.  Their  military 
organisation  was  in  some  respects  equal  to  that 
of  Asiatic  nations.  The  Mexicans  played  a ball 
game,  and  tennis,  in  specially  constructed  courts, 
using  an  india-rubber  ball.  Probably  this  was 
the  first  rubber  ball  seen  by  Europeans.  They 
had  also  a favourite,  complicated  game  called 
patolli,  remarkably  similar  to  the  pachisi 
of  modern  India,  it  is  stated. 

The  mural  remains  of  the  early  Mexicans  as 
they  exist  to-day  are  of  great  extent,  variety,  and 
beauty,  and  are  found  over  an  enormous  range 
of  territory.  A mere  enumeration  of  them 
occupies  thirty  odd  pages  in  the  Handbook  of 
American  Ethnology.  They  include  pyramids, 
temples,  tombs,  causeways,  statues,  fortifications, 
terraced  hills,  rock  sculpture,  idols,  painted  caves, 
canals,  pottery,  mummies,  wells,  &c. 


104  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  pyramids  of  Teotihuacan  are  formed  of 
adobe  and  rubble.  The  pyramid  of  the  sun  is 
perhaps  the  most  colossal  prehistoric  structure 
in  America,  700  feet  long  on  the  base  and 
nearly  200  feet  high.  Upon  its  summit,  tradition 
says,  a huge  stone  image  was  set  up  to  the  Sun 
God  Tonatiuh,  whose  breastplate  of  burnished 
gold  flashed  back  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun. 
The  pyramid  of  the  moon  is  a lesser  structure, 
and  there  are  other  remains  of  a similar 
character  near  at  hand.  From  one  pyramid  to 
the  other  runs  a singular  road  known  as  the 
“ pathway  of  the  dead,”  bordered  by  ramparts 
of  lava  stones — some  of  which  still  bear  the 
remains  of  painting  in  bright  colours  — and 
numerous  small  buildings  which  appear  to  have 
been  burial-places. 

The  Pyramid  of  the  Sun,  of  Teotihuacan,  con- 
tains perhaps  the  secret  of  the  most  remote 
and  advanced  civilisations  of  Mexico,  of  the 
shadowy  Toltecs  who  are  the  supposed  con- 
structors. Perfectly  oriented,  its  principal  side 
faces  the  east ; and  a knowledge  of  constructive 
necessities  is  shown  in  the  immense  solid  plat- 
form upon  which  it  is  built,  sustaining  the 
pressure  of  the  millions  of  tons  of  material  upon 
it.  In  form  it  consists  of  four  portions,  one 
upon  the  other,  with  four  faces  terraced  at  the 
sides,  and  on  the  summit  a terrace  which  doubt- 
less contained  the  temple  and  the  figure  of  the 
Sun  God.  It  is  reached  by  a fine  wide  staircase 
of  stone,  still  in  good  preservation  notwithstand- 
ing its  age.  It  is  not  as  high  as  the  Egyptian 


OMECIHUATl-llA  WUJERkDOS). 

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JUTTA  A»r»tUC*  Y*m»5lCALCUU» 

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FIGURE  OF  OME  CIHUATL,  THE  WOMAN  GOD,  FROM  TEOTIHUACAN,  CENTRAL 

MEXICO. 


To  face  p.  105. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


105 


pyramids,  but  resembles  them  in  its  various 
coverings  or  layers  and  its  stone  construction 
to  some  extent ; and  possibly  it  contains  subter- 
ranean chambers.  Enormous  labour  must  have 
been  expended  upon  it  by  the  people  of  the 
valley  where  it  stands. 

Of  extreme  interest,  as  having  been  found  at 
Teotihuacan,  the  “ sacred  city  ” of  the  Pyramid 
of  the  Sun,  is  the  figure  of  another  woman-god, 
that  of  Omecihuatl,  here  illustrated,  also  in  the 
National  Museum — the  “ Creator-Goddess,”  or 
possibly  Goddess  of  Water  ; and  this  has  been 
compared  by  Mexican  archaeologists  with  certain 
Egyptian  mythological  figures.  It  is  io  feet 
6 inches  high,  carved  out  of  trachyte. 

About  the  fields  surrounding  Teotihuacan 
hundreds  of  small  terra-cotta  masks  and  idols 
are  constantly  ploughed  up,  and  many  of  them 
seem  to  be  moulded  as  likenesses.  Some  of  these 
much  resemble  the  carvings  and  castings  in  stone 
and  copper  of  the  objects  encountered  in  the 
tombs  of  the  pre-Incas  of  Peru,  although  it  would 
appear  that  the  fact  has  been  but  little  brought 
to  notice.  Both  in  Mexico  and  Peru  these  objects 
appear  to  bear,  in  some  cases,  a resemblance  to 
objects  from  Egyptian  tombs.  Another  point 
of  similarity  is  in  the  form  of  the  pottery 
of  Mexico  and  Peru,  in  the  finely-moulded  bird 
and  animal  forms,  the  vessels  having  acoustic 
properties  ; that  is,  when  blown  into,  or  when 
water  is  poured  in  or  out  of  them,  they  emit 
sounds  like  the  animal  or  bird  they  represent. 
It  would  appear  that  the  similarity  between  the 


106  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


objects  of  the  pre-Aztecs  and  pre-Incas  is 
stronger  than  that  between  the  Aztecs  and  Incas 
themselves — a fact  not  generally  recognised. 

The  great  pyramid  of  Cholula  measures 
1,440  feet  upon  its  base,  and  is  larger  than  the 
pyramid  of  Cheops,  and  is  the  oldest  and  largest 
Teocalli  in  Mexico.  Like  most  of  these  struc- 
tures, it  is  truncated,  its  height  being  200  feet, 
with  an  area  on  the  summit  of  more  than  an 
acre.  The  hemispherical  temple  which  crowned 
it  is  now  destroyed  and  obliterated.  It  was 
reached  by  exterior  staircases  up  the  slope  of  the 
structure.  This  pyramid  is  ascribed  to  the  Tol- 
tecs,  and  Quetzalcoatl  was  the  presiding  deity. 
The  site  of  Cholula  is  7,500  feet  above  sea- 
level.  There  is  a Tower  of  Babel  tradition  about 
Cholula.  One  of  the  seven  giants — Xelhua— 
rescued  from  the  Deluge,  the  fable  says,  built 
the  great  pyramid  to  storm  heaven  from,  but  'the 
gods  destroyed  it  with  fire  and  confounded  the 
language  of  the  builders. 

Monte  Alban,  in  the  State  of  Oaxaca,  has  been 
well  pictured  by  one  of  the  best  known  writers 
on  American  archaeology.1  “ Entire  crests  or 
mountains  have  been  cut  away  to  form  platforms, 
courts,  and  quadrangles,  high  ridges  thousands 
of  feet  above  the  valley,  where  pyramid  after 
pyramid  and  terrace  after  terrace  are  encoun- 
tered, like  unreal  or  fairy  cities  shimmering 
in  the  haze,  conveying  a sense  of  mystery 
and  unfathomed  time  which  strikes  upon  the 
beholder’s  mind.  Utterly  abandoned  and  solitary 
1 Holmes,  “ Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World.” 


EARLY  MEXICO 


107 


are  these  “ high  places  ” to-day,  but  the  chain  of 
Teocallis  which  existed  there  may  be  imagined, 
lighted  up  at  night  by  the  glare  of  sacred  fires, 
never  extinguished,  whilst  thronging  multitudes 
pressed  along  the  ancient  streets.”  These  “ man- 
sions in  the  skies  ” must  have  been  made  under 
autocratic  mandate,  generation  after  generation 
perhaps  of  struggling  Indians  under  the  will  of 
Mexican  Pharaohs,  at  whose  commands,  heedless 
of  life,  labour,  and  time,  the  stone,  earth,  and 
adobe  of  these  pyramids  were  moved,  and  these 
mighty  excavations  formed  on  the  Monte  Alban 
hill. 

Others  of  the  famous  Mexican  pyramids  are 
that  of  Papantla,  near  Vera  Cruz,  ascribed  to  the 
Aztecs,  and  the  smaller  sculptured  pyramid  of 
Xochicalco.  Papantla  especially  is  one  of  those 
pre-Columbian  structures  which  seems  to  have 
some  affinity  with  the  ancient  world.  Xochicalco 
is  of  much  later  date. 

The  State  of  Oaxaca  is  mainly  peopled  by  the 
Zapotecs,  a distinct  racial  group  who  have  been 
the  intermediaries,  for  an  unknown  period, 
between  the  Nahua  civilisation  of  the  Mexican 
plateau  and  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan — a link 
between  the  east  and  west  of  these  cultures.  It 
is  stated  that  “ the  influence  of  the  two  separate 
currents  may  be  detected  in  the  bastard  calendar 
system  no  less  than  in  the  still  undeciphered 
inscriptions.” 

The  beautiful  ruins  of  Mitla  in  this  State,  with 
their  great  monoliths  and  carved,  sculptured 
walls  and  doorways,  are  still  in  a fair  state  of 


108  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


preservation.  Mitla  was  the  burial  city  of  the 
priests  and  kings  of  the  ancient  Zapotecs,  and 
if  partly  analogous  with  the  Mexican  ruins  they 
bear  a distinct  character.  One  of  the  main 
structures  is  the  step-pyramid,  130  feet  high,  in 
three  steps.  But  the  principal  architectural 
features  are  the  monolithic  columns  and  lintels 
and  the  richly  sculptured  walls  and  fretted 
facades  of  the  palaces.  These  great  halls  or 
palaces  are  generally  oriented,  like  some  of  the 
Mexican  pyramids.  The  Hall  of  the  Monoliths  or 
Columns  is  a remarkable  building  1 2 5 feet  long, 
with  a row  of  columns  down  its  centre,  whilst  parts 
of  the  interior  and  exterior  are  carved  with  a beau- 
tifully executed  geometrical  design  of  “ Greek  ” 
character.  The  blocks  upon  which  the  design  is 
cut  are  exactly  fitted  to  each  other,  and  the  walls 
of  one  of  the  halls  show  more  than  thirteen  thou- 
sand of  these.  The  stone  doorways  are  massive 
and  effective,  with  lintels  in  some  cases  12  feet 
long  and  4 feet  thick.  There  exist  at  Mitla  nearly 
a hundred  monoliths,  as  columns,  lintels,  or  roof- 
stones,  some  20  feet  long  and  weighing  up  to 
twenty  tons.  The  large  columns  were  cut  from 
quarries  in  the  tractyte  formation  five  miles  away 
and  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  buildings, 
and  some  stones  still  remain  in  the  quarry,  never 
having  been  removed. 

The  name  “ Mitla  ” means  the  “ Kingdom  of 
the  dead,”  also  “ hell  ” ; and  it  is  indeed  a 
mystery,  whose  unknown  builders  have  left  no 
trace,  of  which  no  translated  hieroglyph  exists 
such  as  might  afford  a clue  to  the  origin  and 


RUINS  OF  MITLA,  HALL  OF  THE  “ GRECQUES,”  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


109 


purpose  of  the  beautiful  halls,  the  sculptured 
fagades,  admirably  executed  mosaics,  and  strange 
subterranean  chambers  which  form  these  aston- 
ishing ruins.  The  only  hieroglyphics  of  Mitla 
are  those  in  the  subterranean  temple  of  Tecotitlan 
— the  place  of  the  Gods — near  at  hand,  which 
perhaps  may  yet  be  deciphered.  These  have 
been  likened  to  Egyptian  hieroglyphics.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  at  Mitla  there  are  neither  idols 
nor  sculptured  figures  of  human  beings.  The 
whole  ornament  is  of  geometrical  design,  as  if 
figures  had  been  forbidden  in  the  culture  of  its 
builders.  The  walls  around  the  enormous  con- 
crete-paved courts  forming  the  four  principal 
temples  are  in  some  cases  six  varas  thick.  The 
whole  of  the  immediate  environs  of  Mitla  contains 
remains  of  pyramids,  fortresses,  and  underground 
chambers,  all  ornamented  in  the  same  way,  and 
must  have  been  the  work  of  a people  of  very 
considerable  civilisation.  It  has  been  surmised 
that  they  may  have  represented  some  religious 
sect,  given  over  to  meditation  and  the  thoughts 
of  death,  perhaps  with  religious  rites  of  a 
mysterious  and  awful  nature.  Some  of  the 
underground  chambers  are  cruciform  in  shape, 
and  lined  with  mosaics,  and  it  is  believed 
that  further  undiscovered  subterranean  halls 
exist.  The  ruins  form  perhaps  the  most  mys- 
terious and  remarkable  group  in  the  New 
■W  orld . 

Mitla  can  easily  be  reached  to-day.  The  new 
extension  of  the  railway  from  Oaxaca  and  Mexico 
City  brings  one  to  within  seven  miles’  carriage 


110  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


drive  of  the  village,  and  any  one  may  visit  these 
beautiful  relics  of  a bygone  civilisation  without 
danger  or  discomfort.  Their  character  is  well 
shown  in  the  accompanying  illustrations  ; and, 
for  want  of  a better  name,  one  might  term  them 
“ Mexican-Grasco-Buddhist  ” in  style. 

The  State  of  Guerrero,  lying  entirely  upon  the 
Pacific  littoral,  is  a field  of  much  ethnological 
interest  due  to  the  large  number  of  distinct 
aboriginal  tribes  speaking  different  languages 
which  inhabit  it,  but  much  of  it  is  unexplored. 
Prehistoric  ruins  occur  in  considerable  numbers, 
although  not  of  a character  such  as  distinguish 
the  more  famous  Mexican  groups.  This  region 
offers  an  interesting  field  for  the  traveller.  There 
are  no  railways  and  the  saddle  is  the  only  means 
of  conveyance. 

Tehuantepec  is  the  isthmus  State  of  Mexico, 
and  here  are  the  ruins  of  Quiengold,  of  consider- 
able extent,  including  a fine  “ tennis-court.” 
Tehuantepec  is  a region  of  much  interest  in  many 
respects,  both  ethnic  and  physical.  The  women 
of  the  Tehuanas  Indians  are  among  the  finest  in 
Mexico  of  the  native  races,  and  are  famous  for 
their  beauty  and  graceful  carriage.  Their  native 
holiday  costume  is  one  of  the  most  striking  to 
be  encountered  among  the  aborigines  of  America. 
A railway  now  traverses  the  Isthmus  from 
Atlantic  to  Pacific  waters,  192  miles  long,  and 
has  recently  been  linked  up  with  the  general 
Mexican  railway  system.  The  traveller  may 
therefore  reach  this  region  without  great  diffi- 
culty, and  the  railway  indeed  may  be  looked  upon 


RUINS  OF  MITLA,  THE  HALL  OF  THE  MONOLITHS  OR  COLUMNS. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


111 


in  some  respects  as  a rival  to  the  Panama  Canal.1 
The  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  may  be  taken  as 
marking  the  boundary  of  Mexico  in  a physical 
and  ethnological  sense,  although  not  politically, 
for  the  States  and  territories  of  Yucatan  and 
Chiapas,  which  are  considered  under  the  Maya 
culture,  to  which  they  belong,  are  part  of  the 
Republic  of  Mexico. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  arts  of  the  early 
Mexicans  were  far  advanced  in  some  respects, 
if  extremely  barbaric  in  others — a condition  which 
was  to  have  been  expected.  Probably  the  Aztec 
empire  was  near  the  dawn  of  a literature  when 
the  Spaniards  overthrew  it.  Some  phonetic  signs 
were  in  use,  but  the  picture-writing,  or  hiero- 
glyphical  representation  in  line  and  colour,  on 
native  paper  was  their  means  of  record,  supple- 
mented by  oral  description.  It  is  considered  by 
the  best  authorities  that  the  analogy  of  this  im- 
portant step  towards  phonetic  writing  with  the 
manner  in  which  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics 
passed  into  phonetic  signs  is  remarkable.  These 
“ devilish  scrolls,”  as  the  Spanish  priests  termed 
them,  were  diligently  destroyed  by  a fanatic 
archbishop,2  but  some  famous  Mayan  documents 
of  this  nature  are  preserved.  The  accurate 
adjustment  of  civil  and  solar  time  in  a way 
superior  to  that  of  contemporary  European 
peoples  is  pointed  to  as  a proof  3 of  early 
Mexican  powers  in  mathematical  philosophy,  and 
their  calendar  system  of  some  Asiatic  influence. 

x See  my  book  “ The  Great  Pacific  Coast.” 

2 Zumarraga.  3 Humboldt. 


112  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  beautiful  and  massive  Calendar  Stone  of 
the  Aztecs,  or  “ sun-stone,”  is  1 2 feet  in 
diameter,  a monolith  of  basalt,  the  stone  for 
which  must  have  been  brought  by  its  makers 
from  a considerable  distance,  as  no  rock  of  its 
character  is  found  in  the  vicinity.  Its  sculpture 
is  executed  with  marvellous  dexterity  and  fine- 
ness, and  with  absolute  symmetry,  such  as  could 
not  have  been  excelled  by  any  ancient  people. 
It  was  both  a sun-dial  and  a calendar,  such  as 
the  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  used  in  the  most 
remote  times.  Upon  it  the  Aztec  priests  told 
the  time  of  day  by  means  of  gnomons  and 
threads ; but  in  addition  to  this  the  solstices 
were  determined  by  these  functionaries,  and 
account  kept  of  years  and  days.  Further,  on  the 
face  of  the  stone,  as  already  mentioned,  are 
inscribed  the  time  or  era  of  their  civilisation, 
the  division  of  the  years  in  weeks  and  days,  and 
the  centuries,  or  series  of  years,  computed  with 
a greater  exactitude  than  that  of  the  modern 
Gregorian  calendar,  its  error  being  equivalent 
only  to  a day  in  thousands  of  years.  The  central 
figure  is  that  of  Tonatiuh,  and  the  hieroglyphic 
upon  its  forehead  indicates  the  first  solar  cycle 
of  fifty^two  years.  All  the  other  carvings  and 
hieroglyphics  have  been  assigned  their  use  in  this 
astronomical  wonder.  It  is  almost  impossible  to 
understand  how  this  stone  could  have  been  sculp- 
tured by  workmen  who  had  no  steel  tools  ; yet 
this  and  other  numerous  objects  in  diorite, 
granite,  trachite,  basalt,  and  other  extremely  hard 
rock,  works  of  the  early  Mexicans,  must  have 


TH  1C  AZTEC  CALENDAR  STONE. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


113 


been  carved,  as  far  as  is  known,  simply  with  tools 
of  hard  stone.  The  reading  of  a hieroglyphic 
supposes  this  calendar  stone  to  have  been  made 
in  the  year  1479  A.D.  This,  of  course,  is  a very 
recent  date  comparatively,  and  the  science  which 
gave  it  birth — if  it  was  not  derived  from  Asia 
— must  have  taken  enormous  periods  to  evolve 
on  American  soil.  If  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonian Zodiacal  signs  and  the  Hindu  Zodiac  are 
of  extreme  age,  calculated  astronomically  as 
having  their  origin  previous  to  1800  B.C.,  and 
possibly  2300  B.C.,  the  system  of  early  America 
could  not  reasonably  be  considered  to  have  been 
of  recent  origin. 

In  connection  with  the  matter  of  a possible 
derivation  from  Asia,  the  article  in  the  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica,  new  edition,  may  be  read  with 
interest : “ The  Aztec  calendar  includes  titles 
borrowed,  not  only  through  the  medium  of  the 
Tartar  Zodiac,  but  likewise  straight  from  the 
Indian  scheme,  apart  from  any  known  interven- 
tion. The  ‘three  footprints  of  Vishnu,’  for 
example,  unmistakably  gave  its  name  to  the 
Mexican  day  Ollin,  signifying  the  track  of  the 
sun,”  says  this  authority ; and  as  to  the  widely- 
diffused  Chinese  circle  of  the  animals  ‘‘a  large  de- 
tachment of  the  ‘ cyclical  animals  ’ even  found  its 
way  to  the  New  World.”  The  great  authority  on 
this  subject  was  Humboldt,  as  before  mentioned. 

This  famous  calendar  is  further  discussed  else- 
where,1 and  the  illustration  given  is  from  a photo- 
graph of  the  stone  in  the  museum  of  Mexico. 

1 See  p.  243. 

8 


114  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


A feature  of  the  Mexican  mythology  was  the 
Rain  Gods,  and  the  God  of  the  Seas  and  Rivers, 
and  the  devotion  shown  to  these  is  explained  by 
the  terrible  droughts  from  which  Mexico  suffers, 
and  which  in  all  probability  have  been  one  of  the 
principal  agents  in  the  dispersal  and  breaking-up 
of  these  ancient  dynasties.  A flood  legend  also 
is  not  wanting.  The  Toltecs,  whose  civilisation 
the  Aztec  family  inherited,  supposed,  according 
to  their  chronology,  that  four  thousand  years  after 
the  creation  of  the  world  and  seventeen  thou- 
sand before  the  Christian  era,  Cyalchitlique,  the 
god  governing  the  seas  and  torrents,  destroyed 
the  earth,  by  upheavals  and  floods.  In  the 
curious  picture  writing  of  the  Vatican  Codex  this 
cataclysm  is  represented,  the  god  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  drawing  with  angry  visage  presiding 
over  man’s  destruction.  The  waves  form  furious 
whirlpools  and  inundate  a house  from  which 
a head  and  an  arm  appear,  indicating  that  all 
creatures  died  or  were  transformed  into  fishes. 
The  two  hieroglyphics  shown  in  the  illustration, 
serve  to  indicate  the  character  of  the  Mexican 
picture-writing. 

The  religion  of  all  the  early  Mexicans  was 
not  of  the  sacrificial  and  bloody  character 
described  before,  and  the  pre-Aztec  peoples,  the 
Toltecs,  have  not  been  accused  of  these  prac- 
tices, whilst  to  the  neighbouring  empire — that 
of  Texcoco,  contemporaneous  with  the  Aztecs 
upon  the  Mexican  plateau — a chaste  and  in  some 
respects  beautiful  religious  cult  has  been  attri- 
buted. The  prince  of  this  State,  Nezahualcoyotl, 


MEXICAN  PICTURE-WRITING. 


THE  DELUGE  IN  MEXICO. 


MONTEZUMA  ORDERING  HIS  NAME  TO  BE  SCULPTURED  AT 
CHAPULTEPEC. 


116  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


has  been  termed  the  “ Solomon  of  Anahuac,” 
due  to  his  wisdom  and  poetic  writings.  He 
raised  a “ nine-story  temple  with  a starry  roof  ” 
to  the  “ unknown  God  ” or  rather  to  the  deity 
who  was  called  Tloquenahuaque,  “ he  who  is  all 
by  himself,”  or  Ipalnemoani,  “ he  by  whom  we 
live,”  and  who,  like  the  Inca  deity,1  could  have 
no  image  or  likeness,  but  pervaded  everything. 
In  this  temple  human  sacrifice  was  forbidden, 
and  offerings  of  flowers  were  made.  Part  of 
the  ruins  of  this  edifice  still  exist,  and  upon  the 
Texcotzinco  hill,  to  bear  witness  that  it  was  not 
all  a fable,  are  the  stone  steps  and  terraces  and 
the  great  embankment  of  the  aqueduct -channel 
of  hewn  stone,  which  the  traveller  may  see  to- 
day. Baths  and  hanging  gardens,  temples,  villas, 
and  harems  are  said  to  have  been  established  by 
this  monarch,  like  those  of  some  Oriental  poten- 
tate, and,  indeed,  the  story  of  his  life  is  one  of 
the  most  romantic  of  the  New  World’s  prehistoric 
heroes.  Agriculture  was  practised  under  him,  on 
hillside  terraces,  like  the  Andenes  of  the  Peru- 
vians, later  described,  and,  indeed,  there  was 
much  about  his  regimen  that  is  comparable  with 
the  beneficent  rule  of  the  early  Peruvian 
emperors. 

But  most  eloquent  of  all  is  the  prayer  of 
Nezahualcoyotl  as  recorded  by  the  Spanish- 
educated  historian  of  that  time,  showing  a mind 
capable  of  deep  religious  thought,  like  the 
Solomon  of  the  Old  World.  This  was  his 
prayer  : — 


1 See  p.  174. 


EARLY  MEXICO 


117 


“ Truly  the  gods  which  I adore,  idols  of 
stone  and  wood,  speak  not  nor  feel ; neither 
could  they  fashion  the  beauty  of  the  heavens, 
the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  nor  yet  the  earth 
and  the  streams,  the  trees,  and  the  plants  which 
beautify  it.  Some  powerful,  hidden,  and  un- 
known God  must  be  the  Creator  of  the  universe, 
and  He  alone  can  console  me  in  my  affliction  or 
still  the  bitter  anguish  of  this  heart.”  1 

1 See  Spanish  rendering  of  Ixtlilochitl  in  Prescott’s 
“ Mexico.” 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND 

The  civilisation  of  the  Mayas — Yucatan  and  Chiapas — Age  of 
Maya  culture — Arrival  of  Cortes — Types  of  architecture 
— Pyramids  and  galleries — The  magnificence  of  Palenque 
— The  beau-relief  — Temples  and  crosses  — The  cross 
in  prehistoric  America — Yucatan  millionaires — Henequen 
and  oppression — Rubber  and  slavery — Ruins  of  Uxmal 
— The  Maya  Arch — Astonishing  architectural  forms — 
Chac-mol  figures — Egypt  and  Mexico — Le  Plongeon’s 
theories — The  mastodon  in  stone — Prehistoric  hydraulics 
— The  famous  Cenotes — Sacrifices  of  virgins — Yucatan 
and  the  Ganges. 

If  Mexico  was  a land  of  strange  and  sacred  things, 
Yucatan  and  Central  America,  the  home  of  the 
Maya  culture,  might  well  arouse  our  interest  even 
to  a greater  extent.  Erom  among  the  forests  and 
jungles  of  this  remarkable  region  ruined  temples 
and  pyramids  stand  out  like  visions  of  some 
fabled  story,  wrapped  to-day  in  dense  vegeta- 
tion, solitary  and  mysterious  examples  of  man’s 
abandoned  handiwork. 

What  is  now  the  great  State  of  Oaxaca,  in 
Southern  Mexico,  the  home  of  the  Zlapotec  and 
Mixtec  tribes,  was  the  merging-point  of  the  two 
sharply  contrasted  cultures  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  as  was  natural  from  its 

geographical  position  between  them. 

118 


iind.Uii|, 


^nvula^  1-dr  t Vl^*»jL"'4"v' 


jliiffijuinB 

yP,aHerrero 


^MICHOAQftN  , 


Gulf  of  Cuiiifi  a-h< 


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Railways  

Steamship  Routes 
RUINS  UNDERLINED  IN  BLUE. 


SOUTHERN  MEXICO 
CENTRAL  AMERICA 


SHOWING  APPROXIMATE  POSITION 
OF  PRINCIPAL  RUINS 

To  accompany 

“The  Secret  of  the  Pacific” 


C.  Reginald  Enock,  F.R.Q.8 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


Loujj.wos  or  <; 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  119 


The  region  covered  by  the  evidences  of  the 
Maya  civilisation  embodies  the  Mexican  States 
of  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  and  extends  thence 
into  the  Central  American  republic  of  Guate- 
mala and  others,  as  shown  in  a subsequent 
chapter.  At  what  time  did  this  culture  rise, 
flourish,  and  fade? 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  civilisation  of 
the  Mayas  was  derived  from  an  earlier  system, 
and,  indeed,  was  reared  upon  it,  and  this  is  the 
only  rational  view  that  can  be  taken.  The  life 
of  the  culture  represented,  however,  by  the  exist- 
ing famous  buildings  of  Central  America  cannot, 
it  has  been  calculated,  have  endured  more  than 
five  hundred  years.  It  is  considered  by  recent 
authorities  on  the  subject  that  its  highest 
development  was  reached  at  the  time  of  the 
Mexican  or  Nahua  approach  thereto,  notably  in 
Mayapan  and  Chichen  Ytza,  following  which  it 
became  extinct.  These  must  have  been  famous 
centres,  known  over  vast  areas,  and  this  assump- 
tion is  borne  out  by  what  scanty  documentary 
records  exist.  Yet  it  is  shown  that  the  Mayan 
culture  also  tended  to  assimilate  other  elements, 
as  shown  in  the  types  of  its  buildings. 

In  Bancroft’s  exhaustive  work  it  is  considered 
that  the  history  of  the  Mayas  “ indicates  the 
building  of  some  of  the  cities  at  various  dates 
from  the  third  to  the  tenth  century.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  buildings  to  indicate  the  date  of 
their  erection — that  they  were  or  were  not  stand- 
ing at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 
We  may  see  how,  abandoned  and  uncared  for, 


120  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


they  have  resisted  the  ravages  of  the  elements 
for  three  or  four  centuries.  How  many  centuries 
they  may  have  stood  guarded  and  kept  in  repair 
by  the  builders  and  their  descendants  we  can 
only  conjecture.”  1 

It  is  to  be  recollected,  as  concerns  the  age 
of  these  ruins  of  Yucatan,  that  some  of  them 
at  least  were  occupied  when  Cortes  arrived  ; for 
it  was  in  Yucatan  that  the  Conquistador  first 
landed,  and  if  the  life  of  the  culture  they  repre- 
sent is  taken  at  five  hundred  years,  it  would 
seem  that  the  civilisation  responsible  for  them 
must  have  been  roughly  coeval  with  the  Incas 
of  Peru  and  with  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico.  It  is, 
apparently,  the  same  story  of  a newer  civilisation 
or  culture  founded  upon  and  succeeding  an  older, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Incas  and  Aymaras  of 
Peru — a newer  culture,  but  not  necessarily  an 
equal  or  superior  one.  The  structures  of  sculp- 
tured stone  bequeathed  by  this  culture  are 
perhaps  the  finest  of  all  in  the  New  World,  and 
astounded  Europe  when  they  were  discovered. 

Some  of  the  ruins  of  Central  America  repre- 
sent the  remains  of  entire  cities  which  once 
flourished  there,  whilst  others  can  only  have  been 
groups  of  buildings,  and  even  single  structures 
standing  alone.  There  are  certain  well-marked 
types  in  these  buildings,  the  commonest  being 
pyramids  and  galleries.  Some  of  the  pyramids 
were  built  of  brick,  but  the  general  construction 
was  of  hewn  stone  with  a covering  of  carved 
slabs.  Up  the  sides  of  these  pyramids  were  stair- 
1 Bancroft,  “ Native  Races,”  vol.  iv. 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  121 


cases,  like  the  teocallis  of  Mexico,  and  some 
of  them  were  built  in  steps.  The  platform  on 
the  summit  was  generally  occupied  by  a temple, 
divided  as  a rule  into  two  parts,  vestibule  and 
sanctuary.  Altars,  pillars,  and  sacrificial  stones, 
as  necessary  for  the  rites  and  ceremonies  prac- 
tised there,  were  subsidiary  parts  of  the  struc- 
tures. There  were  also  dwellings  for  priests  and 
officials  ; and  the  famous  “ tennis-courts  ” for 
the  ball  games  like  that  of  the  early  Mexicans 
before  mentioned  were  a marked  feature  of  these 
places.  These  courts  were  always  built  north 
and  south,  and  almost  invariably  all  the  buildings 
have  a definite  orientation  to  the  cardinal  points. 
In  some  cases  the  pyramids  form  one  side  of 
a quadrangle,  inside  which  are  lesser  pyramids, 
altars,  and  other  structures.  These  astonishing 
buildings  have  been  well  described  and  illus- 
trated,1 and  are  as  much  worth  a visit  by  the 
traveller  as  some  of  the  famous  temples  of 
antiquity  in  other  lands. 

As  to  the  galleries,  the  usual  type  is  that  of 
an  oblong  building  with  doors  in  the  front,  facing 
on  the  quadrangle  or  enclosure,  divided  into  a 
series  of  rooms.  In  some  cases  these  galleries, 
as  far  as  their  ground  plan  and  the  quad- 
rangles are  concerned,  bear  some  similarity  to  the 
long  halls  built  by  the  Incas  in  Peru.  These, 
however,  were  of  one  story  only,  whilst  the 
Central  American  galleries  may  have  as  many 
as  three  stories,  the  height  and  shape  of  the 
rooms  being  determined  by  the  requirements  of 
1 See  Holmes  and  others. 


122  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  vaulting.  This  vaulting,  or  “ Maya  Arch,”  is 
described  later. 

The  principal  groups  of  ruins  of  Maya  cha- 
racter to  be  considered  in  this  part  of  Mexico 
are  those  of  Palenque,  in  Chiapas,  and  of  Uxmal 
and  Chichen  Itza,  in  Yucatan. 

At  Palenque  twelve  truncated  pyramids,  built 
of  earth,  stones,  and  masonry,  have  been  dis- 
covered, eight  of  which  are  crowned  by  temples. 
These  are  known  respectively  as  the  Temple  of 
the  Sun,  the  Temple  of  the  Cross,  the  Temple 
of  the  Inscriptions,  and  the  extensive  group 
known  as  the  Palace.  It  has  been  said  that  in 
the  unequalled  magnificence  of  its  sculpture 
Palenque  outshines  all  the  other  structures. 

These  temples  are  of  massive  masonry,  partly 
rough  blocks,  partly  of  worked  and  sculptured 
stone  and  stucco  sculpture.  They  have 
numerous  doorways  on  to  the  platform  at  the 
summit  of  the  pyramids,  and  are  in  some  cases  of 
an  interior  vault  construction,  carrying  roofs  of 
masonry.  A square  tower  of  four  stories  rises 
from  the  Palace  group  about  40  feet  high,  the 
centre  of  a system  of  extensive  courts,  buildings, 
and  walls,  all  upon  the  summit  of  a low  pyramid 
200  feet  square.  The  lintels  over  the  doorways 
are,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Yucatan  structures 
elsewhere  described,  of  wood,  and  the  decay  and 
failure  of  these  has  in  some  instances  brought 
down  portions  of  the  fagades.  Interior  staircases 
and  huge  reliefs  of  human  figures  are  a feature 
of  these  interiors,  and  the  beautiful  figure  known 
as  the  Beau  Relief  has  been  compared  by  some 


PYRAMID  TEMPLE  AT  CHICHEX  ITZA,  YUCATAN. 


To  facr  p. 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  123 


archaeologists  with  the  relief  sculptures  of 
Babylon  and  Egypt.  A subterranean  passage- 
way, through  which  a stream  still  runs,  of  stone- 
vaulted  construction,  of  which  a thousand  feet 
still  exist,  is  a noteworthy  feature  of  this  pre- 
historic city.  A dense  growth  of  forest  and 

vegetation  covers  these  ruins,  the  whole  valley, 
walls,  pyramids,  and  roofs  being  buried  in  a 
leafy  sea. 

One  of  the  largest  and  best  preserved  of  all 
the  structures  here  is  that  known  as  the  Temple 
of  the  Inscription,  so  called  by  reason  of  the 
tablets  it  contains,  carved  with  hieroglyphics. 
There  are  other  sculptured  slabs,  which  form 
balustrades  to  the  steps  leading  up  to  the  temple. 
The  exterior  is  decorated  with  figures  in  stucco, 
those  on  the  outer  faces  of  the  four  pillars  in 
front  being  of  life  size,  representing  women 
bearing  children  in  their  arms.  It  is  perhaps 
worthy  of  note  here  that  at  the  Temple  of  Cuzco, 
in  Peru,  as  recorded  by  the  early  Spanish 
chroniclers,  there  were  stone  figures  of  women 
carrying  children. 

The  small  temple  known  as  the  Beau  Relief  is 
built  on  a narrow  rocky  ledge  of  the  steep  slope 
of  the  hill,  and  in  a central  position  on  the  back 
wall  of  the  sanctuary  is  the  famous  stucco  bas- 
relief  representing  a single  figure  seated  on  a 
throne.  This  figure  is  beautifully  modelled,  both 
as  to  form,  drapery,  and  ornaments,  with  the  face 
turned  to  one  side  and  the  arms  outstretched. 
A representation  of  this  remarkable  figure — which 
some  have  attempted  to  compare  with  Egyptian 


124  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


or  Assyrian  work — has  been  preserved  in  one  of 
the  books  descriptive  of  these  buildings — fortu- 
nately so,  as  the  figure  is  falling  to  decay. 

The  Temple  of  the  Sun  also  contains  figures 
and  hieroglyphics,  and  calendar  datings  which 
are  remarkable  as  showing  some  special  combina- 
tion of  numbers  and  hieroglyphics  which  do  not 
occur  elsewhere.  In  the  Temple  of  the  Cross  is 
a tablet  which  has  excited  controversy  because 
its  design  contains  a representation  of  a Latin 
cross.  In  connection  with  the  occurrence  of  the 
form  of  the  cross  in  Mexico,  the  crucified  figure 
pierced  with  arrows,  in  the  Mexican  Codex,  is 
also  of  interest. 

All  the  above-described  remains  are  in  the 
State  of  Chiapas,  which  still  contains  an  exten- 
sive range  of  territory  but  little  explored.  The 
same  holds  good  as  concerns  the  State  of 
Guerrero,  although  these  cannot  be  remains  of 
such  importance  as  those  of  Palenque,  still  un- 
discovered. There  is,  however,  much  to  be  done, 
and  the  traveller  will  enter  a field  of  great 
interest  and  possibilities  here.  Leaving  Chiapas, 
we  enter  upon  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan. 

As  stated,  this  remarkable  region  belongs 
politically  to  Mexico,  although  archasologically 
and  ethnologically  it  is  part  of  Central  America. 
Geologically,  too,  it  is  very  different  to  Mexico 
proper,  and  as  our  steamer  lies  off  the  coast  we 
see  at  once  that  we  are  looking  upon  another 
land.  Here  are  no  sierras  rising  from  sandy 
coast  plains,  topped  by  a snow-clad  peak,  like 
that  of  Orizaba  from  Vera  Cruz,  but  a flat  region 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  125 


of  plain  and  forest.  The  formation  of  Yucatan 
is  a curious  one — a great  limestone  plain,  with 
its  rivers  running  underground,  and  covered  with 
forest. 

Detailed  study  of  the  ruins  in  this  part  of 
Mexico  has  not  been  easy,  due  to  the  forests  and 
swamp-growth,  the  malaria,  encountered  in 
places,  and  the  backward  state,  politically,  of 
the  region.  Here,  perhaps,  the  modern  Spanish- 
American  rule  has  been  more  oppressive  to  the 
aboriginal  element  than  elsewhere  (unless  in  the 
Amazon  rubber-bearing  region),1  and  that  is 
saying  a good  deal.  Great  fortunes  have  been 
made  by  the  Mexican  hacendados,  planters  of 
the  henequen  fibre  ; and,  indeed,  the  henequen 
millionaire  is  the  outstanding  feature  of  social 
life  in  Yucatan  ; but  in  the  creation  of  the  wealth 
brutal  serfdom  has  been  involved  and  the 
trampling  on  the  most  primitive  rights  of  the 
humble  workers  of  the  soil,  the  prime  pro- 
ducers of  the  wealth.  It  would  be  out  of  place 
to  dwell  upon  these  matters  here,  and  the  reader 
may  be  referred  to  recent  literature  upon  the 
subject.2 3  It  is  easy  to  exaggerate  these  matters, 
but  the  whole  of  Spanish-American  life,  ancient 
and  modern,  has  been  an  example  of  oppression 
meted  out  to  the  native,  whether  in  Mexico, 
whether  in  Peru. 3 The  atrocities  which  were 
recently  exposed  of  a rubber  company  on  the 

1 See  p.  168. 

2 See  “ The  American  Egypt,”  also  various  recent  magazine 
articles. 

3 See  also  my  book  “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 


11 


126  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Peruvian  Amazon  bear  witness  to  this  condition. 
The  peon  or  the  cholo  of  Spanish  America  is 
little  more  than  a chattel  at  present. 

The  ruins  of  Uxmal,  the  archaeological  pride 
of  Yucatan,  have  been  described  by  competent 
observers  as  one  of  the  grandest  groups  of 
remains  on  the  continent.1  It  is,  however, 
situated  in  an  extremely  unhealthy  district.  The 
country  is  for  the  most  part  a great  forest- 
covered  plain,  with  a horizon  level  as  the  sea. 
The  area  covered  by  the  main  group  of  ruins 
is  not  much  more  than  half  a mile  square,  but 
scattered  remains  are  found  beyond  this  limit, 
and  it  must  have  been  an  extensive  and  im- 
portant place.  The  buildings  are  now  much 
dilapidated  and  covered  with  thick  vegetation, 
except  where  recent  clearings  have  been  made. 
But  they  are  extremely  impressive,  and  “ it  is 
difficult  to  realise  that  the  huge  pyramidal 
masses,  rising  like  hills  above  the  general  level, 
are  really  wholly  artificial.” 

The  five  great  structures  or  groups  of  struc- 
tures at  Uxmal,  which  are  the  finest  specimens 
of  Maya  architecture,  are  those  known  as  the 
Pyramid  Temple  of  the  Magician,  or  Casa  del 
Adionio,  the  quadrangle  called  the  Nunnery,  or 
Casa  de  Monjas,  the  House  of  the  Turtles,  or 
Casa  de  Tortugas,  the  House  of  the  Pigeons, 
or  Casa  de  Palomas,  and  the  Governor’s  Palace, 
or  Casa  del  Governador.  There  are  many  other 

1 “ Archaeological  Studies  among  the  Ancient  Cities  of 
Mexico,”  W.  H.  Holmes  (Columbian  Field  Museum,  Chicago, 

1895)- 


FIGURE  DISCOVERED  AT  CHICHEX  ITZA,  YUCATAN. 


To  face  p.  126. 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  127 


buildings  surrounding  these,  but  of  less  interest 
and  importance,  principally  because  they  are  in 
a more  advanced  stage  of  dilapidation.  There 
are  certain  features  of  material  and  construc- 
tion common  to  nearly  all  these  buildings.  The 
stone  is  a pale  yellowish  and  reddish -grey 
marbled  limestone,  which  must  have  been  quar- 
ried from  the  massive  strata  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity.  The  sites  of  these  quarries,  however, 
are  buried  in  the  dense  jungles,  and  are  hard 
to  find.  The  body  of  the  walls  is  formed  of 
unhewn  stone  in  mortar  of  excellent  quality, 
made  of  lime  burned  in  the  vicinity.  The  facings 
and  decorations  are  all  cut  and  carved  with  dex- 
terous skill,  not  surpassed  even  in  work  in  which 
tools  of  iron  and  steel  are  used  ; whilst  the  faces 
of  the  blocks  and  their  contact  margins  are  cut 
with  absolute  precision.  The  stones  were  bedded 
in  mortar,  but  in  some  cases  the  joints  are  so 
well  made  that  the  mortar  does  not  show  on 
the  surface.  A great  deal  of  plastering  was  used, 
and  surfaces  and  even  mouldings  and  sculptures 
were  rendered  with  white  plaster  and  painted 
in  colours.  The  walls  average  3 feet  thick, 
and  consequently  are  massive,  and  there  are  no 
windows  or  openings  for  air  or  light.  The  door- 
ways are  of  simple  construction,  with  lintels, 
where  they  remain,  of  zapote  wood,  a hard  native 
variety,  dressed  square,  measuring  8 feet  long 
and  1 5 inches  wide  ; and  many  of  these  large 
lintels  are  in  a good  state  of  preservation  even 
to-day. 

On  plan,  these  buildings  generally  take  the 


128  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


form  of  a rectangle,  long  and  narrow,  and  having 
one  or  two  series  of  rooms.  None  of  them  are 
over  one  story,  but  the  remarkable  roof  crests 
give  an  effect  of  great  height  in  some  cases. 
The  base  of  the  buildings  is  formed  of  terraces 
or  low  pyramids. 

As  to  the  interior  construction,  this  embodies 
the  peculiar  vaulted  ceilings  of  stone,  the  wedge- 
shaped  Maya  “ Arch.”  This,  of  course,  is  not 
an  arch  in  reality,  although  termed  so  for  con- 
venience ; but  it  consists  of  horizontally  placed 
stones,  successively  corbelled  out,  bevelled  to 
form  a smooth  slope,  and  spanned  at  the  top 
by  a larger  slab  : this  type  of  construction  is 
found,  although  in  less  degree,  in  Peru,  and  is, 
of  course,  a natural  development  of  primitive 
stone-masonry. 

The  general  structure  of  the  apartments  and 
vaulted  ceilings  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
illustration,  which  is  a section  of  the  Governor’s 
Palace. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  ruins  in  the  group 
is  the  Temple  of  the  Magicians  ; and  it  is  the 
first  to  catch  the  traveller’s  eye  as  he  approaches 
from  the  trail.  This  structure  consists  of  a steep 
step-pyramid  with  a ruined  temple  upon  its 
summit ; and  upon  the  western  face  near  the  top 
is  a second  remarkable  structure.  The  height  of 
the  pile  is  upwards  of  80  feet,  the  length  at  the 
base  about  240  feet,  and  the  width  nearly  160 
feet.  The  summit  platform  measures  about  22 
by  80  feet.  The  interior  of  the  mass  is  composed 
of  rough  stones  in  coarse  mortar  and  the  surface 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  129 


was  faced  with  rough-dressed  stone,  large 
portions  of  which  are  still  in  place.  A wide 
stairway  rises  directly  from  the  roadway  on  the 
east  side,  at  an  angle  so  steep  that  the  ascent 
is  made  with  difficulty  and  risk.  The  steps  are 
much  loosened  and  displaced,  but  as  a whole  the 
stairway  is  in  a wonderful  state  of  preservation, 


TYPE  OF  MAYA  ARCH  OR  VAULTED  CEILING;  FROM  HOLMES’S  “ ANCIENT 
CITIES  OF  MEXICO.” 

(a)  Outer  doorway,  wood  lintels  restored. 

( b ) Inner  doorway. 

(c)  Back  wall,  nine  feet  thick. 

( d ) Entablature  with  rich  decorations. 

" considering  the  steep  angle  and  the  destructive 
agencies  at  work  for  upwards  of  four  hundred 
years.”  The  temple  which  crowns  the  summit 
is  some  70  feet  long  by  12  feet  wide.  The  arch- 
supported  roof  had  fallen  in  when  the  above 
account  was  written,  and  the  walls  are  broken 
down  in  various  places,  but  some  were  still 

9 


130  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


adorned  with  chastely  embellished  lattice-work 
panels,  unique  sculpture,  and  masks  of  rare  form. 

The  most  striking  feature  of  the  structure 
is  a temple  built  against  the  north  side  of  the 
pyramid.  The  doorway  opens  on  a narrow  plat- 
form from  which  a stairway  some  24  feet  wide 
descended  into  the  court  below.  The  facade  of 
this  temple  is  about  22  feet  square,  and  is  a 
most  ornate  and  vigorous  piece  of  composite 
sculpture.  The  large  space  above  the  doorway 
is  occupied  by  a colossal  snouted  face  or  mask 
some  12  feet  square,  filled  with  striking  detail. 

Another  famous  group  of  buildings  here  is 
the  Nunnery  Quadrangle,  and  this  is  among  the 
best  known  specimens  of  Maya  architecture,  but 
“ much  as  it  has  been  described,  and  as  fully 
as  it  has  been  illustrated  by  the  drawings  of 
Catherwood  and  Le  Plongeon,  and  the  photo- 
graphs and  casts  of  Thompson,  the  student  must 
see  it  before  he  can  begin  to  realise  its  marvels.” 
Four  great  rectangular  structures  stand  upon  a 
broad  terrace  in  quadrangular  arrangement,  their 
ornate  fronts  facing  inwards  upon  the  enclosed 
court.  They  do  not  have  the  character  of  temples, 
but  rather  of  communal  dwellings  for  bodies  of 
priestly  orders.  The  terrace  upon  which  these 
buildings  are  placed  has  not  been  very  clearly 
defined.  The  base  measures  upwards  of  300  feet 
square  ; on  the  south  it  rises  in  three  unequal 
steps  to  a height  of  perhaps  1 5 feet,  on  the  other 
sides  considerably  greater.  The  four  great 
facades  facing  the  court  are  among  the  most 
notable  in  Yucatan,  and  deserve  special  attention 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  131 


at  the  hands  of  students  of  American  art.  They 
have  been  carefully  described  by  several  authors. 
Bancroft’s  descriptions  are  especially  full  and 
lucid.  Examining  the  various  motives  employed 
in  embellishment,  we  find  that  the  great  snouted 
mask  (or  at  least  partially  masked  faces,  prob- 
ably symbolising  the  chief  Yucatec  deity 
Cukulcan)  was  the  favourite  and  is  found  in 
all  the  fronts.  Next  to  the  mask  design  the 
most  important  motive  is  the  serpent.  The 
embodiment  of  the  colossal  feathered  serpent 
with  the  complex  field  of  geometrical  decoration 
in  the  west  facade  is  a most  effective  piece  of 
work  and  must  be  regarded  as  a great  master- 
piece of  decorative  sculpture.  Life-sized  or 
colossal  human  figures,  almost  in  the  round,  form 
a fourth  group  of  motives,  and  several  fragments 
remain  to  attest  the  skill  and  taste  of  the 
ambitious  builders.  It  may  thus  be  said  that 
these  buildings  employ  some  eight  or  ten 
distinctive  elements,  nearly  all  of  which  are 
doubtless  mytho -aesthetic,  and  were  introduced 
because  of  their  associated  ideas,  as  well  as  for 
embellishment.  They  all  occur  in  other  buildings 
in  Uxmal,  and  nearly  all  are  found  in  Chichen 
and  other  cities  of  Yucatan. 

The  so-called  Governor’s  House  or  Palace  is 
built  on  a broad  triple  terrace,  and  this  superb 
building  is  justly  regarded  as  the  most  important 
single  structure  of  its  class  in  Yucatan,  or  for  that 
matter  in  America.  It  is  320  feet  long,  40  feet 
wide,  and  about  25  feet  high.  The  building 
faces  the  east ; the  front  wall  is  pierced  by 


132  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


nine  principal  doorways  and  by  the  two  arch- 
way openings,  and  presents  a fagade  of  rare 
beauty  and  great  originality.  The  House  of  the 
Turtles  and  the  House  of  the  Doves  are  also 
remarkable  structures,  the  last  named  being  a 
group  of  six  galleries  surrounding  a court. 

The  foregoing  descriptions  of  Uxmal  are  taken 
from  Holmes’s  comprehensive  works,  to  which 
the  student  may  be  referred  for  fuller  detail  and 
illustrations. 

Scarcely  less  famous  than  Uxmal,  and  not  to 
be  confused  therewith,  is  Chichen  Itza,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Yucatan,  about  midway  between 
the  east  and  west  coasts. 

These  ruins  consist  of  eight  principal  groups, 
which  are  among  the  most  important  and  best 
preserved  of  any  of  the  early  American  struc- 
tures. They  are  grouped  around  two  natural 
flowing  wells  in  the  limestone  formation,  the 
cenotes,  famous  in  this  remarkable  peninsula. 
The  larger  of  these  wells  is  350  feet  long  by 
150  feet  wide,  and  their  rocky  sides  are  60  or 
70  feet  high.  The  Casa  de  Monjas  is  a three- 
story  building,  bearing  traces  of  three  distinct 
periods  of  construction  ; a small  round  structure 
— the  Caracol — in  imitation  of  a snail-shell ; and 
El  Castillo,  an  ornate  temple  on  a pyramid  of 
striking  appearance,  200  feet  on  its  base  and  75 
feet  high,  with  staircases  on  all  four  sides.  This 
temple  is  adorned  with  serpent-pillars  of  a kind 
found  only  at  Uxmal  and  at  Tula,  near  Mexico 
city.  There  is  also  an  unnamed  temple-pyramid, 
with  a strange  group  of  caryatid  figures  ; also 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  133 


a tennis-court,  and  lastly,  the  Temple  of  the 
Tigers,  with  extraordinary  coloured  reliefs  repre- 
senting figures  of  warriors,  and  hieroglyphs,  all 
executed  in  a distinctively  Mexican  style. 
Another  evidence  of  Mexican  influence  at 
Chichen  Itza  is  to  be  noted  in  fine  figures  of 
the  so-called  Chac-mol  type — that  is  to  say, 
horizontal  figures  in  which  the  arms  are  ex- 
tended to  the  navel,  which  is  indicated  by  a 
cup-like  depression.  The  Chac-mol  type  is 
characteristic  of  such  sites  as  Tlascala  and 
Cempoalla. 

These  last-named  places,  it  will  be  recollected, 
are  on  the  Mexican  gulf  slope,  and  were  among 
the  first  points  on  the  mainland  of  Mexico  visited 
by  Cortes,  who  destroyed  some  of  the  temple- 
pyramids  of  the  tribes  dwelling  there. 

In  considering  the  works  of  the  Mayas  it  might 
well  be  asked  what  instruments  of  precision  they 
possessed,  to  perform  stone  masonry  so  true  and 
plumb  and  of  such  elaboration  as  excites  our 
admiration  even  to-day — buildings  which  it 
would  seem  impossible  to  construct  without 
scientific  appliances. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  singular  theory 
advanced  by  one  of  the  explorers  1 in  Yucatan 
that  Egypt  owed  its  early  civilisation  to  Mexico  ; 
and  he  set  forth  his  theory  in  his  books.  The 
matter  was  recently  brought  before  the  public 
again  in  a magazine  article  2 of  which  it  is  of 
interest  to  note  some  particulars. 

1 Dr.  Augustus  le  Plongeon. 

2 London  Magazine , April,  1910. 


134  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


“ Whence  did  Egypt  derive  her  civilisation? 
No  one  has  yet  succeeded  in  discovering  a solu- 
tion to  the  mystery.  One  fact  is  assured  : the 
farther  back  research  goes,  the  more  complete 
is  found  Egyptian  civilisation.  It  was  not 
autochthonous  ; it  was  carried  to  Egypt.  Who 
carried  it?  Various  scientists  have  adduced 
theories,  but  none  of  them  have  any  substance. 
Yet  the  key  to  the  problem  stares  them  in  the 
face  if  they  would  but  rid  themselves  of  pre- 
conceived ideas.  In  Yucatan  we  find  the  key 
to  the  problem.  In  ‘ The  Greater  Exodus  ’ 1 
we  find  the  following  : ‘ On  the  ancient  Egyptian 
monuments,  especially  those  which  refer  to  the 
campaigns  of  Sesostris,  there  are  pictures  which 
have  never  been  explained  in  a satisfactory 
manner.  These  are  of  men  with  red  skin,  beard- 
less, £nd  wearing  the  headdress  of  the  old 
Peruvian  Incas.’ 

“ The  architecture  of  the  people  of  Yucatan 
was  the  precursor  of  Egypt  and  Babylon,  their 
religion  was  passed  from  continent  to  continent, 
they  built  pyramids  and  had  a wonderful  system 
of  letters.  Le  Plongeon  died  maligned,  sneered 
at  by  self-constituted  authorities  who  preferred 
to  perpetuate  a wrong  rather  than  admit  that  the 
whole  ideas  of  civilised  man,  which  have  passed 
muster  for  so  many  centuries,  were  put  in  the 
melting-pot  by  the  genius  of  Le  Plongeon  and 
one  or  two  able  workers  in  the  same  field.2  His 

1 Lee. 

2 Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  His  work  was  valuable, 
but  his  interpretations  are  held  to  be  fanciful. 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  135 


discoveries  at  Chichen  Itza,  where  he  found  the 
tomb  of  Chac-mol,  or  Prince  Coh,  are  dramatic 
to  an  extraordinary  degree.  They  associate 
Mexico  with  Egypt,  Babylon,  and  other  past 
epochs.  Yet  Dr.  le  Plongeon  spent  his  fortune 
and  died  in  poverty  to  advance  a theory  and  a 
cause  which  he  knew  to  be  true,  and  he  and  his 
devoted  wife  spent  their  lives  in  exploration  in 
Yucatan,  and  deserve  the  homage  of  the  scientific 
world.  To-day  few  libraries  contain  his  works. 
It  rests  with  the  world  ere  too  late  to  make 
amends  to  his  widow.  Let  us  know  the  truth, 
which  for  two  thousand  years  has  been  denied 
us,  and  at  which  Plato  hinted  in  his  famous 
Dialogues.” 

Whatever  view  the  reader  may  form  of  this, 
it  is  certain  that  much  interesting  matter  was 
laid  bare  by  the  Le  Plongeons.  The  explorer 
sought  to  trace  in  the  remarkable  sculpture  on 
the  frieze  of  the  fagade  of  the  Nunnery  or  Casa 
de  Monjas  at  Chichen  Itza  “ an  illustration  which 
might  serve  as  the  account  of  the  creation  given 
in  an  ancient  work  of  the  Brahmins,  the  ‘ Manava 
Dharma  Shastra,’  compiled  in  1300  b.c.  from 
works  of  greater  antiquity.  But  the  letters  in- 
scribed are  ancient  Egyptian  letters.  The 
sculpture  portrays  an  egg,  surrounded  with 
scallops,  indicating  rays,  to  demonstrate  the 
sacredness  of  the  divinity  within  the  cosmic  egg. 
The  picture  is  enclosed  in  a frame  of  zigzag 
lines ; symbolically  this  represents  the  egg 
floating  in  the  midst  of  the  waters. 

‘‘The  letters  M.H.N.,  forming  part  of  the 


136  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


design,  signify  in  Mayan  ‘ engendered,’  the 
same  signs  as  deciphered  by  Champollion  on 
the  famous  Rosetta  Stone  as  meaning  the  same 
thing  in  the  Egyptian  tongue.” 

Some  of  these  signs,  it  will  be  observed,  take 
more  or  less  the  form  of  the  “ Greek  ” pattern, 
which  is  so  freely  encountered  at  Mitla  and  upon 
textile  fabric  and  pottery  in  P(eru,  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  as  discussed  elsewhere. 

On  the  facade  of  that  remarkable  building  at 
Chichen  Itza  known  as  Kuna,  or  God’s  House, 
is  some  strange  sculpture  of  singularly  shaped 
stones  which  appear  to  represent  great  visages. 
“ These  great  faces,”  the  last  quoted  account 
says,  “ were  not  intended  as  correct  likenesses 
of  any  creature,  but  were  a grouping  of  certain 
letters,  which  gave  the  ancient  name  of  the  pre- 
historic animal  the  mastodon.  While  it  is 
commonly  known  that  in  Asia  the  elephant  has 
been  regarded  with  veneration  for  ages,  it  re- 
mained for  us  to  learn  from  these  old  walls  that 
the  big  American  pachyderm  had  been  similarly 
sacred  among  the  people  who  anciently  dwelt  in 
Yucatan.”  The  “ trunk  of  the  mastodon  ” projects 
from  the  walls.  The  illustration  of  this  sculp- 
ture,1 indeed,  shows  the  remarkable  trunk-like 
curved  stones  which  are  so  striking  a feature 
of  the  fagade. 

The  foregoing  writers  point  out  other  assumed 
analogies  with  Egyptian  culture,  including  the 
figure  of  the  Mexican  sphynx  and  crocodiles 
which  were  unearthed  by  them.  The  great  statue 


* See  my  “ Mexico.” 


RUINS  OF  CHICHEN  ITZA, 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  137 


of  Chac-mol,  which  they  excavated  at  Chichen 
Itza,  weighed,  it  is  stated,  3,500  lb.  The  statue 
is  now  in  the  Mexican  Museum.  In  another 
tomb,  “ after  many  days’  hard  work  there  came 
to  light  a curious  prostrate  figure,  which  required 
sixteen  men  to  haul  it  out  and  set  it  upright. 
If  standing,  this  figure  would  have  been  7 feet 
high.  One  leg  was  found  broken  off,  and  one 
foot  was  turned  in,  clubbed.  One  arm  was 
shorter  than  the  other,  like  that  of  Thoth,  the 
preceptor  of  Isis  in  Egypt.”  One  of  the  illustra- 
tions given  by  the  Le  Plongeons  shows  a bas- 
relief  with  the  Maya  or  Toltec  headdress,  which  is 
stated  to  be  similar  to  the  pointed  Egyptian  head- 
dress or  sphent,  except  that  the  latter  was  worn 
with  the  point  at  the  back  by  dwellers  in  Lower 
Egypt. 

It  is  also  remarked  that  “ Tat,  the  Maya  word 
for  ‘ father,’  was  a name  often  applied  to  Osiris, 
and  that  the  Egyptians  always  pointed  to  the 
west  as  the  birthplace  of  their  gods.” 

As  regards  the  word  Tat  I might  remark  in 
passing  that  a somewhat  similar  term,  viz.,  Taita, 
is  the  word  for  “ father  ” among  the  Quechuas 
of  Peru  to-day,  and  was,  of  course,  an  Inca  word. 
It  is  used  as  a term  of  respect,  moreover,  to  the 
functionary  or  even  to  the  traveller  to-day  in 
the  Andine  highlands. 

Those  who  desire  to  follow  the  theories  and 
deductions  of  the  Le  Plongeons  will  find  them 
set  forth  in  the  books  published  by  the  explorer,1 
and  also  in  the  article  quoted. 

* “ Queen  Moo  and  the  Egyptian  Sphynx  ; or,  Sacred 
Mysteries  among  the  Mayas  and  Quiches.” 


138  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


There  are  other  noteworthy  ruins  in  Yucatan, 
such  as  Chacmaltun,  with  fine  wall-paintings ; 
Tantah,  with  remarkable  pillared  facades  ; the 
ruins  of  Labna,  Chunhuhub,  and  the  caves  of 
Loltun  ; and  Xlabpak  de  Santa  Rosa,  where  there 
is  a three-storied  temple  palace.  Two  sculptured 
reliefs  are  of  great  interest.  They  represent  a 
person  holding  a staff,  on  which  is  a figure  of 
the  god  Ah-bolon-tzacab.  The  islands  of 
Cozumel  — where  Cortes  first  landed  — and 
Mujeres  Island  also  contain  smaller  ruins. 

It  was  a high  aboriginal  civilisation,  already 
in  its  decline,  that  Cortes  encountered,  partly  of 
deserted  cities  falling  into  ruins  ; whilst  others, 
such  as  Chichen  Itza  and  Uxmal,  were  still 
peopled  by  the  last  of  the  Mayas.  There  is  no 
record  of  or  reason  for  the  decline  of  these 
people,  as  far  as  is  definitely  known.  The  great 
extent  of  these  ruined  structures  seems  to  argue 
the  former  existence  of  large  populations  in  well- 
settled  districts,  productive  agriculturally,  for 
there  could  not  have  been  any  system  of  com- 
merce such  as  would  have  supported  them. 
Possibly  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  drought, 
epidemics,  &c.,  caused  the  decline,  for  the  climate 
is  hot  and  unhealthy,  and  the  greatest  problem 
must  have  been  that  of  water  conservation. 
There  are,  indeed,  legends  of  great  droughts, 
which  also  destroyed  the  Toltec  empire. 

How  well  these  primitive  engineers  did  provide 
against  drought,  by  taking  advantage  of  a curious 
natural  feature — the  underground  flow  of  water 
in  the  flat  limestone  formation,  in  a land  where 


THE  MAYA  WONDERLAND  139 


there  are  no  streams — is  shown  by  the  famous 
cenotes  or  underground  reservoirs,  which 
afforded  a perennial  supply  of  water.  Just  as 
into  the  Ganges  of  India  maidens  were  cast  as 
sacrifices,  so  were  virgins  cast  into  these  sacred 
wells  of  Yucatan. 

In  a subsequent  chapter  some  Asiatic  affinities 
with  Yucatan  are  discussed. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS 

Guatemala  — British  Honduras  — Honduras  — Salvador  — 
Nicaragua  — Costa  Rica — Difficult  topography — Pilpil 
civilisation — Migration  from  Mexico  to  Central  America 
— Ancient  sculptures  and  reliefs — Farthest  limit  of  Maya 
culture  — Chac-mol  sculpture  — Ruins  of  Quirigua — 
Beautiful  stelae — Ancient  city — Terraces  and  plazas — 
Huge  carved  stones — Hieroglyphs — The  “Greek'’  pattern 
— Santa  Lucia  Cozumalhuapa  — Numerous  ruins  — Ex- 
pedition of  Cortes — Three  pyramids — The  Quiches — The 
famous  Popol  Vuh — Story  of  the  Creation  and  the 
Deluge  in  prehistoric  America — Ruins  of  Copan — Pyra- 
mids, ramparts,  and  terraces — Metal-craft  of  Chiriqui — 
Reading  the  hieroglyphs — Junction  between  Mayas  and 
Incas — Ecuador  and  Columbia — Mysterious  conquerors. 

There  is  no  slackening  of  archaeological  interest 
on  crossing  the  merely  modem  political  boundary 
between  Yucatan  and  Chiapas,  and  Guatemala 
and  the  other  Central  American  Republics.  No 
ethnological  division  occurs,  and  both  archaeo- 
logically  and  physically  the  two  regions  merge 
into  each  other. 

Guatemala  is  a fairly  large  and  flourishing 
republic,  but,  like  all  her  neighbours,  with  great 
areas  of  undeveloped  territory.  To  the  north 
lies  a small  portion  of  the  British  Empire — 
British  Honduras.  South-eastwardly  thence  are 

140 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  141 


Honduras,  the  republic,  Salvador,  Nicaragua,  and 
Costa  Rica,  all  independent  republics,  known 
principally  to  the  British  or  American  reader  by 
reason  of  questionable  financial  matters.  Lastly 
there  is  Panama,  with  its  great  canal. 

It  is  only  of  comparatively  recent  times  that 
much  investigation  has  been  made  into  the 
archaeology  of  this  region,  which  astonished 
Europe  when  first  brought  to  notice,  but 
nevertheless  painstaking  research  has  been 
carried  out.1  The  fact  of  close  connection 
with  Mexican  culture  is  well  established,  and 
it  is  held  that  some  Central  American  peoples 
were  actually  Mexican  in  their  language  and 
culture,  especially  the  Pilpils  and  a large  part 
of  the  population  of  Nicaragua.  Discoveries 
made  2 in  Central  America  during  the  years  1907 
to  1909  determined  the  fact  that  elements  of 
Mexican  origin  extended  through  Guatemala, 
Salvador,  and  portions  of  Nicaragua,  as  well  as 
in  several  places  in  Costa  Rica. 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  these  regions  of 
Central  America,  the  smaller  Spanish-American 
republics  of  to-day,  cover  a large  area  of  terri- 
tory, consisting  of  mountain  ranges,  profound 
valleys,  lakes,  swamps,  tangled  forests,  and  fiery 
volcanoes.  Indeed,  Central  America  embodies 
perhaps  the  most  diversified  part  of  the  earth’s 
surface,  and  has  been  and  still  is  the  scene  of 
mighty  natural  operations  and  forces.  Never- 

1 Especially  by  Lehmann,  Maudslay,  and  other  well-known 
explorers. 

2 By  Dr.  Lehmann. 


142  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


theless,  this  pre-Hispanic  civilisation  overcame 
these  obstacles,  and  man  spread  and  practised 
his  stone-shaping  arts  in  profusion  along  that 
great  belt  of  savage  territory. 

It  is  stated  to  be  an  error  of  the  Spanish 
historians  who  held  that  the  Pilpil  civilisation  in 
Guatemala  and  Salvador  was  not  older  than  the 
time  of  King  Ahuitzotl  of  Mexico1 — 1482-6 — 
during  the  Aztec  regime.  The  language  spoken 
by  the  Pilpils  of  Salvador  on  the  Balsam  coast, 
recent  authorities  state,  is  a very  old  dialect  of 
the  Mexican  language  of  the  highland  of  Mexico, 
and  has  preserved  forms  still  older  than  the 
original  and  classic  Nahuatl  itself.  The  separa- 
tion of  the  Pilpils  from  the  chief  tribes  of  the 
Nahuatl  branch  must  have  happened  centuries 
before  the  Conquest.  They  developed  a strange 
civilisation,  vestiges  of  which  can  be  seen  in 
the  remarkable  stone-reliefs  and  sculptures  of 
Santa  Lucia  de  Cozumalhuapa  on  the  Pacific 
coast  of  Guatemala.  Archaeological  and  lin- 
guistic researches,2  especially  in  Salvador  and 
Nicaragua,  also  enabled  another  very  important 
fact  to  be  proved,  viz.,  that  these  Pilpils,  who 
may  be  descended  from  the  peoples  of  the 
Mexican  plateau,  migrated  into  territories  pre- 
viously occupied  by  an  older  race  of  Mayan 
origin.  The  new  and  interesting  evidence 
secured  proves  in  addition  that  people  of  the 
Maya  race  once  occupied  a great  part  of 
Salvador  and  Honduras.  Typical  Mayan  ruins 

1 One  of  the  Mexican  Aztec  kings. 

3 Of  Dr.  Lehmann,  the  most  recent  authority. 


1 


KUINS  OF  QUIKIGUA,  GUATEMALA. 
Stela  10  feet  high,  with  hieroglyphs. 


To  face  p.  142. 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  143 


in  Honduras,  at  Tenampua,  and  in  Salvador,  near 
Tehuacan,  and  Quelapa,  near  San  Miguel,  were 
left  by  these  people,  although  Mayan  hieroglyphic 
inscriptions  are  not  encountered.  The  most 
easterly  limit  of  pre-historic  Mayan  civilisation 
on  the  Pacific  coast  of  Central  America  is  that  of 
Fonseca  Bay,  with  the  island  of  Zacate  Grande. 
It  has  been  shown  that  archaeological  remains  of 
the  type  found  in  northern  Honduras,  in  the 
Ulloa  Valley,  have  been  encountered  on  the 
Pacific  coast  of  Salvador,  including  a curious 
stone  sculpture  of  the  so-called  Chac-mol  type, 
known  before  only  from  Tlaxcala  and  Chichen 
Itza.  In  the  nearly  unexplored  part  of 
Nicaragua,  Dr.  Lehmann  found  fragments  of 
painted  polychrome  clay  pottery.  It  is  possible 
that  these  remains  of  Mayan  pottery  came  into 
Central  Nicaragua  as  articles  of  commerce.  It 
is  remarked  that  evidences  of  Mayan  civilisation 
cannot  be  found  in  any  other  part  of  Nicaragua 
or  Costa  Rica,  which  seems  to  point  to  the  limit 
of  this  culture  geographically. 

The  remarkable  ruins  of  Quirigua,  in  Guate- 
mala, near  the  border  of  Honduras,  lie  close  to 
the  Guatemala  railway,  which  traverses  that  very 
narrow  portion  of  America  from  Puerto  Barrios 
on  the  Atlantic  side  to  San  Jose  on  the  Pacific 
side.  Here,  in  a valley  which  is  described  as  “ a 
sheltered  tropical  paradise,”  is  the  home  of  one 
of  the  oldest  American  civilisations,  and  there 
are  many  temptations  for  the  traveller  to 
visit  it. 

The  banks  of  the  Montagua  River  for  a dis- 


144  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


tance  of  some  forty  miles,  and  comprising  an 
area  of  some  two  hundred  square  miles,  is  dotted 
with  ruins  of  an  ancient  race.  Graves,  mounds, 
monoliths,  and  stone  heaps  testify  silently  to  the 
life  which  once  filled  the  valley.  Undoubtedly  a 
large  part  of  the  Mayas  found  a most  agreeable 
home  here.' 

The  principal  place  of  interest  is  the  ruined  city 
of  Quirigua,  still  in  the  heart  of  the  jungle,  and 
this  must  have  been  the  metropolis  of  the  primi- 
tive people  in  pre-Hispanic  days,  for  here  they 
built  their  great  square  and  erected  the  beauti- 
fully sculptured  and  massive  monoliths,  which 
are  undoubtedly  among  the  most  remarkable 
examples  of  the  early  American  stone-shaping 
art.  These  remains  are  now  preserved  by  the 
Guatemala  Government  as  public  property. 

The  principal  monuments  are  of  stelae,  or 
vertical  pillars  of  carved  stone,  animals  and 
reptiles  carved  in  stone,  blocks,  terraced  walls, 
temples,  and  pyramids.  The  ancient  city  is  laid 
out  with  a large  central  plaza,  or  square,  and  a 
smaller  court.  The  hills  about  two  miles  away 
appear  to  have  furnished  the  stone  for  these 
structures,  which  may  have  been  floated  to  the 
spot  by  stream  and  canal,  remains  of  which  latter 
still  exist. 

“ The  main  group  of  buildings  seems  to  have 
been  built  in  the  form  of  an  enclosed  court.  The 
terraced  walls  which  form  this  court  to  the  east 
and  south  average  some  30  to  40  feet  high.  At 

1 V.  M.  Cutter,  in  the  “ Bulletin  ” of  the  Pan-American 
Union,  Washington,  January,  1911. 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  145 


this  point  partial  excavation  has  shown  several 
rooms  with  walls  of  squared  stones  and  doorways 
arched  with  flat  stone.  To  the  north  the  plaza  is 
open,  with  an  immense  terraced  pyramid  in  the 
centre  of  the  opening.  This  pyramid  measures 
some  150  feet  square  at  the  base,  and  rises  to 
a height  of  over  40  feet.  All  the  walls  and 
terraces  are  overgrown  with  immense  trees,  and 
the  stones  are  displaced  badly  by  the  roots,  which 
have  forced  them  out  of  place  and  sent  them 
tumbling  down  the  walls. 

“ Near  the  southern  wall  and  directly  facing 
the  pyramid  before  described  lies  an  immense 
round  carved  stone  weighing  probably  well 
over  twenty  tons.  The  main  figure  on  this  stone 
is  that  of  a woman,  elaborately  dressed,  and  is 
claimed  to  constitute  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
known  monuments  of  ancient  civilisations  in 
existence.  The  top  and  sides  of  this  stone  are 
completely  covered  with  glyphs  and  figures,  with 
probably  several  Mayan  dates  included.”  1 

The  illustration  of  this  remarkable  stone  shows 
the  boldly  and  beautifully  executed  sculpture  of 
the  woman’s  face,  and  lower  down  is  seen  the 
inevitable  “ Greek  ” pattern,  such  as  is  sculp- 
tured on  the  walls  of  Mitla,  figured  on  Peruvian 
pottery  and  textile  fabrics,  and  familiar  in 
decorative  art  all  over  the  ancient  and  modern 
world,  as  indicated  on  page  244. 

“ Near  the  eastern  wall  is  a circular  stone  with 
the  figure  of  a man  in  sitting  posture,  and  sur- 
rounded by  picture-writing  as  yet  undeciphered. 

1 “ Bulletin,”  ante. 

10 


146  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Near  by  lies  a stone,  carved  possibly  to  repre- 
sent a tiger’s  head.  Outside  the  temple  court 
are  two  stelae  about  i o feet  in  height,  with  figures 
of  women  on  front  and  back,  with  glyphs  on 
either  side,  these  latter  being  surrounded  by 
ornamental  feather  or  scroll  work.  Near  the 
latter  stones  are  several  stelae,  which  have  fallen 
or  been  thrown  down  by  some  ruthless  explorer. 

“ These  stelae  are  remarkably  well  preserved. 
They  are  of  sandstone,  the  carving  in  low-relief, 
and  not  as  ornate  as  that  at  Co  pan  in  Honduras. 
It  is  stated  by  archaeologists  who  claim  to  have 
deciphered  the  Mayan  dates  of  the  glyphs  that 
these  stelae  were  set  up  at  intervals,  most  of  the 
dates  being  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  cycles  of 
Mayan  chronology.  Other  stelae  are  encountered 
near  at  hand,  three  in  a row,  the  tallest  being 
26  feet  above  the  ground,  covered  with  beautiful 
carving  and  glyphs,  with  the  huge  headdress  and 
death’s  head  and  crossbones  characteristic  of 
nearly  all  these  figures  of  Quirigua.  The  largest 
of  these  stelae  leans  over  at  an  angle,  is  5 feet 
square  and  20  feet  high,  with  probably  10  feet 
more  below  the  surface.  How  were  these  huge 
stones  brought  here?  for  even  to-day  their  trans- 
portation would  be  a problem  through  the  soft 
soil  of  the  valley  on  whose  base  they  exist. 

“ In  this  last-named  group  are  two  large  oval 
carved  stones  which  must  weigh  over  ten  tons 
each,  one  apparently  representing  a turtle  and 
the  other  a frog.  Other  walls,  stones,  and 
carvings  of  equal  interest  are  covered  up  with 
soil  and  silt,  and  only  further  excavation  can 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  147 


reveal  them  and  the  ruins  as  a whole,  and  shed 
further  light  upon  the  race  who  set  them  up.” 

Still  in  Guatemala  we  reach  Santa  Lucia 
Cozumalhuapa,  the  remains  of  a pre-historic 
centre  which  was  in  ruins  even  at  the  time  of 
the  Spanish  advent,  when  the  Conquistador 
Alvarado  arrived  there  in  1522,  after  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico.  This  is  a peculiar  site  on  the 
Pacific  slope  of  the  Cordillera,  and  the  remains 
consist  principally  of  enormous  blocks  of  stone 
sculptured  with  gods,  goddesses,  and  other 
figures  of  a distinctively  Mexican  character,  with 
various  Mayan  features,  attributed,  as  before 
mentioned,  to  the  Pilpil  Indians,  an  offshoot  of 
Nahua  stock. 

Guatemala  is  indeed  rich  in  these  ancient 
ruins,  which  are  numerous  and  extensive  and 
distributed  over  a wide  area.  At  Piedras 
Negras,  Yaxchilan,  or  Menche  and  Tinamit,  are 
important  ruins — temples  covered  with  sculptured 
reliefs  and  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  and  stelas 
and  slabs  carved  with  human  figures  placed 
in  niches.  In  the  Peten  district  Tikal  is  famous 
for  its  splendid  sculptures  representing  Kukulkan 
and  other  divinities.  Near  the  modern  city  of 
Guatemala  are  the  vast  ruins  of  Guatemala- 
Mixco.  Chacujal,  which  Cortes  visited  on  his 
expedition  of  1524-5,  is  very  possibly  to  be 
identified  with  the  modern  Pueblo  Viejo  on  the 
River  Tinaja. 

The  expedition  of  Cortes  to  Honduras,  it  will 
be  recollected,  was  marred  by  the  incident  of 
the  murder  of  the  unfortunate  Guatemoc,  who 


148  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


had  accompanied  him  and  who  was  hanged  head 
downwards  from  a tree  after  a mock  trial,  by- 
order  of  Cortes.  This  was  one  of  the  most  bar- 
barous acts  committed  by  the  Conquistadores, 
and  ranks  with  that  of  the  murder  of  Atahualpa 
at  Cajamarca,  in  Peru,  by  Pizarro,  about  ten 
years  later,  during  the  Conquest. 

Between  the  headwaters  of  the  Rivers  Chiapas 
and  Lacuntun  are  other  noteworthy  remains  of 
prehistoric  Guatemala  : a series  of  three  pyra- 
mids, as  also  pyramids  with  human  figures  on 
their  platforms  ; whilst  at  Quen  Santo  “ stelae 
with  a calendar  character  prove  that  Mayan 
sciences  had  penetrated  into  what  was  probably 
the  home  of  an  old  Lacuntun  culture.” 

Guatemala  was  the  home  of  the  great  Quiche 
nation,  who,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest 
in  1524,  when  they  were  so  ruthlessly  destroyed, 
were  the  most  powerful  of  the  three  Mayan 
peoples  in  that  region.  The  famous  Popol  Vuh, 
their  Sacred  Book  of  History,  containing  a 
mythological  cosmogony,  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant documents  of  the  early  American  people. 
It  was  translated  into  Spanish  by  the  Dominican 
Friar  Ximenes,  and  a French  version  was  written 
by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  There  is  also  an 
English  edition.1  To  its  tradition  “may  be  due 
the  remarkable  similarity  of  the  Quiche  Creation 
story  to  that  of  the  Old  Testament.”  2 This  book 
begins  “ with  the  time  when  there  was  only  the 
heaven  with  its  boundaries  towards  the  four 

1 Spence  (1909). 

2 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Quiches.” 


CARVED  STONE  AT  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA,  WEIGHING  ABOUT  20  TONS.  EXAMPLE  OF  MAYA  ART. 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  149 


winds,  but  as  yet  there  was  no  body,  nothing 
that  clung  to  anything  else,  nothing  that  balanced 
itself  or  rubbed  together  or  made  a sound  ; there 
was  nought  below  but  the  calm  sea  alone  in  the 
silent  darkness.  Alone  were  the  Creator,  the 
Former,  the  Ruler,  the  Feathered  Serpent,  they 
who  give  being — and  whose  name  is  Gucumatz. 
Then  follows  the  Creation,  when  the  creators 
said  ‘ Earth,’  and  the  earth  was  formed  like 
a cloud  or  a fog,  and  the  mountains  appeared 
from  the  water,  trees  covered  the  hills  and 
valleys  and  their  forests  were  peopled  with  beasts 
and  birds,  but  these  could  not  speak,  but  could 
only  chatter  and  croak.  So  man  was  made  first 
of  clay.” 

The  Quiches  had  a skilfully  fortified  capital 
and  an  extensive  system  of  government  and 
religion,  and  their  records  were  kept  in  picture- 
writing. Guatemala  to-day  is  full  of  interesting 
historical  lore,  and  offers  many  allurements  to 
the  traveller. 

Leaving  Guatemala,  we  enter  its  sister  republic, 
Honduras,  and  here  are  the  important  ruins  of 
Copan,  close  to  the  border.  This  place  was  one 
of  the  principal  centres  of  the  Mayas.  Pyramids, 
temples,  and  the  ruins  of  great  buildings  mark 
the  bygone  civilisation  of  these  ancient  people 
here  in  this  narrow  land  between  the  Caribbean 
Sea  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Copan  is  only  some 
thirty  or  forty  miles  from  Quirigua,  last  de- 
scribed. Altars,  in  the  form  of  a turtle,  and  stelae 
covered  with  hieroglyphs,  exist,  the  meaning  of 
which  latter  “ is  so  far  clear  that  it  is  known  that 


150  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  commencement  of  an  inscription  records 
certain  dates  in  the  complicated  calendar  system 
of  the  Mayas.  A collation  of  these  dates  demon- 
strates that  the  most  ancient  on  record  are 
separated  from  the  most  recent  by  an  interval  of 
only  a few  centuries.  From  this  it  may  be  con- 
cluded that  the  Mayan  civilisation,  whether  or 
not  it  was  preceded  by  anything  older,  flourished 
for  only  a comparatively  short  period,  the  begin- 
ning of  which  cannot  be  placed  many  centuries 
before  A.D.  1000.”  1 

The  carvings  and  sculptures  in  the  British 
Museum,  discovered  and  brought  to  England  by 
Mr.  Maudslay,  show  the  character  of  the  monu- 
ments of  Copan. 

Other  ruins  in  this  republic,  of  “ large  pyra- 
midal terraced  structures  often  faced  with  stone, 
conical  mounds  of  earth  and  walls  of  stone,” 
are  found  near  Yarumela,  Lamajini,  and  the 
ruined  town  of  Cururu,  on  the  plains  in  the 
province  of  Comayagua,  and  others  in  the  side 
valleys  and  adjoining  tablelands.  Tenampua 
shows  ruined  ramparts,  defence  works,  terraced 
stone  mounds,  and  numerous  large  pyramids. 
There  are  other  ruins  in  the  western  part  of 
Honduras.2  Remains  which  indicate  the  former 
existence  of  a large  population  are  found  at 
Rio  Ulloa ; and,  indeed,  this  broken  land  of 
deep  valleys  and  tablelands — for  Honduras  mean 
“ depths  ” — tells  the  same  tale  as  its  neighbours, 
of  buried  temples  and  bygone  civilisation. 

1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Central  America.” 

2 Described  by  Squier. 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  151 


Even  British  Honduras,  that  small-holding  of 
the  British  Empire  in  South  America,  bounded 
by  Guatemala  and  Yucatan,  and  lying  to  the 
north  of  its  neighbour  of  the  same  name,  has' 
antiquities,  although  they  have  been  but  little 
investigated  and  command  but  a scanty  litera- 
ture. Near  Santa  Rita  wonderful  wall  paintings 
in  stucco  came  to  light,  but  have  in  the  main 
been  destroyed  after  their  discovery  by  the 
Indians.  These  ruins,  it  is  shown,  were  erected 
over  buildings  of  more  ancient  date.  Some  of 
the  old  buildings  resemble  those  of  Yucatan. 

The  little  republic  of  Salvador,  lying  to  the 
south  of  Honduras,  has  numerous  relics  of 
Mayan  civilisation  buried  in  the  earth  ; few  ruins 
are  to  be  seen  on  the  surface.  There  are,  how- 
ever, three  large  ruins : Cuzcatlan,  near  the 

capital,  Tehuacan,  and  Zacualpa,  on  the  Lake  of 
Guija.  “ A characteristic  feature  of  the  exten- 
sive ruins  of  Zacualpa  is  that  the  pyramids  and 
ramparts  have  perpendicular  steps  which  are 
higher  than  they  are  broad,  and  this  peculiarity 
may  be  attributed  to  the  influence  of  the  Maya 
tribes.” 

As  before  mentioned,  Nicaragua  and  Costa 
Rica — the  latter  the  little  republic  enjoying  the 
best  climate  and  most  advanced  people  of  this 
region — have  comparatively  little  of  archaeo- 
logical remains.  Panama  has  even  less,  perhaps, 
except  that  Chiriqui  was  a centre  of  pre-Hispanic 
metal -craft,  as  mentioned  elsewhere. 

We  have  now  reached  the  limit  of  the  civilisa- 
tion and  influence  of  the  Mayas.  It  extended, 


152  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


as  we  have  seen,  over  a wide  range  of  territory, 
probably  as  much  as  or  more  than  a thousand 
miles  in  length.  A study  of  Mayan  hieroglyphs 
has  yielded  some  results  to  decipherment,  “ but 
had  the  available  material  for  study  been  confined 
to  the  few  Mayan  picture  manuscripts  which  had 
survived  the  destructive  fanaticism  of  the  Spanish 
missionaries,  little  progress  would  have  been 
made  beyond  establishing  subsidiary  details  in 
the  actual  calendar  which,  analogous  to  that 
of  the  Mexicans,  was  said  to  have  been  used 
by  the  Mayas.  But  when  a similar  analysis  was 
applied  to  the  numerous  monuments  discovered 
and  figured,1  some  important  results  of  a general 
bearing  were  obtained.  It  was  found  that  many 
of  the  hieroglyphs  of  various  forms  upon  the 
stones  were  also  of  numeral  value,  and',  what 
was  of  great  importance,  that  they  all  referred 
back  to  a single  starting-point.  This  starting- 
point  or  zero  is  no  doubt  the  mythological  date 
at  which,  according  to  Mayan  cosmology,  the 
world  was  created.  It  is  placed  at  nine  or  ten 
cycles  before  the  time  when  Copan  and  Quirigua 
were  erected  and  the  picture  manuscripts 
made.”  2 It  has  been  possible,  from  these 
matters,  to  adduce  some  chronological  record  of 
the  most  famous  of  these  monuments,  and  “ to 
confine  the  period  of  their  erection  within  the 
space  of  a few  centuries,  and  approximately  to 
fix  even  their  absolute  antiquity,”  3 as  mentioned 
before. 

1 By  Maudslay  and  others. 

2 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Central  America.”  3 Ibid. 


BAS-RELIEF  FROM  QUIRIGUA,  GUATEMALA. 


To  face  p.  152. 


CENTRAL  AMERICAN  MARVELS  153 


Thus  we  leave  the  vast  regions  of  North  and 
Central  America,  with  their  strange  secrets  of 
buried  temples  and  barbaric  civilisations.  We 
leave  it  to  enter  upon  another  and  equally  vast 
and  mysterious  region — that  of  South  America 
and  the  Incas.  We  pass  along  that  narrow  neck 
of  land  beyond  the  Panama  Canal,  wherein  lies 
that  classic  “ peak  in  Darien,”  from  which 
Balboa,  on  September  25,  1513,  first  beheld  the 
Pacific  Ocean — the  first  white  man,  indeed,  to 
look  upon  it — and  so  reach  the  great  continent  of 
which  Colombia  and  Ecuador  are  the  northern- 
most countries.  Below  them,  across  the  Equator, 
lies  Peru. 

Colombia  may  be  looked  upon  as  a meeting- 
ground  between  the  Aztec  and  Inca  cultures. 
The  tribes  of  the  highlands  preserve  charac- 
teristics more  akin  to  those  of  the  Aztecs 
than  to  any  other  race.  At  the  time  of  the 
Spanish  Conquest  the  most  important  of  these 
tribes  had  attained  a considerable  degree  of 
civilisation.  They  lived  in  settled  communities, 
cultivated  the  soil,  and  “ ascribed  their  pro- 
gress towards  civilisation  to  a legendary  cause 
remarkably  similar  to  those  of  the  Aztecs 
of  Mexico  and  the  Incas  of  Peru.”  The 
Tayronas,  of  the  Santa  Maria  highlands,  who 
have  totally  disappeared,  were  also  remark- 
able for  the  progress  which  they  had  made 
towards  civilisation.  Evidence  of  this  is  to  be 
found  in  the  excellent  roads  which  they  con- 
structed and  in  the  skilfully  made  gold  ornaments 
which  have  been  found  in  the  district  which 


154  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


they  occupied,  as  well  as  in  the  contemporary 
accounts  of  their  conquerors. 

Ecuador  had  its  mysteries,  even  before  the  time 
of  the  Incas.  The  earliest  people  known  there 
were  the  Quitus,  who  had  evolved  and  extended 
an  empire  from  warring  savages,  until,  as 
tradition  records,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth 
century  a people  from  some  unknown  source, 
calling  themselves  Caras,  appeared  upon  the 
coast  in  large  rafts  and  established  a regular 
form  of  government  under  a sovereign  called 
Seyri.  They  worshipped  the  sun  and  moon,  were 
skilful  astronomers  and  learned  in  certain  arts 
and  sciences,  their  civilisation  being  a higher 
one  than  that  of  the  Quitos,  whom  they  sup- 
planted. They  governed  the  country  for  four 
and  a half  centuries,  until  they  themselves  were 
overthrown  by  the  advent  of  the  Incas,  under  the 
Emperor  Tupac  Yupanqui,  in  1450.  Thus  it 
was  that  conquest  preceded  conquest  in  these 
great  regions,  long  before  the  Spaniards  appeared 
— strange  doings  of  peoples  who  came  out  of 
the  Unknown,  and  established  something  of  order 
from  savagery  and  chaos. 


/ 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  INCAS— CHILDREN  OF  THE  SUN 

The  fascination  of  Peru — Means  of  travel — Some  of  the 
wonders  of  the  world — Remarkable  building  sites — 
Topographical  situations  — Climatic  influences  — The 
coast  zone — The  Incas  and  pre-Incas — The  Andes — 
Extent  of  Inca  Empire — The  Quechua  language — Rela- 
tive ages — The  son  of  the  sun — A “ virgin  birth  ” — 
Duration  of  Inca  empire — The  famous  royal  roads — 
Lake  Titicaca — The  ruins  at  Cuzco — The  “ navel  ” of  the 
Empire — Sacsaihuaman — Inca  stone  masonry — Fortress 
of  Ollantaytambo — Intihuana  and  Pisac — Astronomical 
pillars — The  throne  of  the  sun — The  Amazon  forests — 
Unfathomable  Tiahuanako — The  “ Unknown  God  ” — 
Prayer  to  the  Creator. 

Who  has  not  felt  the  lure  of  romance  attending 
the  name  of  Peru,  that  far-off  land  of  Pizarro  and 
the  Incas,  of  which  even  to-day  we  hear  so  little  ? 
The  Peru  of  old  was  a land  of  wondrous  things, 

!and  in  many  respects  it  is  the  most  interesting 
portion  of  the  vast  field  we  have  set  ourselves 
to  tread  in  this  volume.  The  long  journeyings 
within  this  land  of  great  mountains  and  deserts — 
the  Tibet  of  America,  the  roof  of  the  world  in 
the  Western  hemisphere — which  fortune  called 
upon  me  to  make  have  left  impressions  which 
time  will  not  easily  banish. 

Our  study  of  the  prehistoric  culture  and  archi- 

155 


tecture  of  Peru  will  take  us  farther  back  in  time 
than  that  of  Mexico  perhaps.  To  visit  its  ancient 
stone  ruins  will,  in  many  cases,  demand  a greater 
tax  upon  our  endurance,  for  Peru  is  one  of  the 
most  inaccessible  countries  of  the  world,  as 
regards  its  interior.  Roads  are  conspicuous  by 
their  absence,  and  the  few  railways,  constructed 
with  foreign  capital  at  enormous  cost,  are  only 
just  beginning  to  send  out  their  branch  lines 
into  the  remote  valleys  and  plains. 

Nevertheless,  some  of  the  most  famous  ruins 
of  the  Inca  and  pre-Inca  periods  are  adjacent  to 
the  railways  and  can  be  visited  by  the  traveller 
without  great  discomfort,  although  the  mere 
tourist  is  scarcely  likely  to  be  attracted  to  the 
Peruvian  interior  at  present. 

In  these  high  regions  of  the  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes,  on  the  great  plateaux  and  the  slopes  of 
precipitous  and  inaccessible  valleys,  we  encounter 
a series  of  ancient  stone  structures  of  great 
interest  and  importance,  in  some  cases  unique 
among  the  wonders  of  the  world.  The  extra- 
ordinary love  or  habit  of  building  halls  and 
temples  of  laboured  stone  in  the  most  inacces- 
sible positions  that  the  mind  of  man  could  con- 
ceive is  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  early 
Peruvian  culture.  These  old  cities  were  not  set 
on  alluvial  plains  or  by  the  estuaries  of  navig- 
able rivers,  but  in  places  where  their  inhabitants 
might  have  been  supposed  to  possess  some  of 
the  attributes  of  the  condor  and  the  vicuna  in 
order  to  carry  on  their  traffic  there  ! The  sites 
of  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  ruins  were  child’s  play 


INCA  FORTRESS  AT  OLLANTAYTAMBO,  SOUTHERN  PERU. 


in  comparison  with  the  eyries  of  the  Andes,  and 
we  can  only  marvel  at  the  seemingly  purposeless 
energy  displayed  until  we  reflect  that  necessity 
forced  these  people  to  adapt  themselves  to  their 
only  environment.  There  are,  of  course,  ruins 
of  cities  which  are  set  by  the  sea,  but  these 
were  relatively  evanescent  in  comparison  with  the 
habitations  of  the  highlands. 

Before  entering  upon  a detailed  description 
of  the  Peruvian  culture  and  archaeology  let  us 
briefly  consider — and  it  is  necessary  to  a proper 
understanding  of  the  subject — the  topographical 
conditions  surrounding  the  old  Empire  of  the 
Incas.  As  we  approach  Peru  from  the  sea  we 
are  confronted  with  a long,  sterile  shore,  beaten 
by  tearing  surf  between  the  few  havens.  There 
is  no  sign  of  life  upon  the  seaboard,  except  the 
cry  of  the  seals  and  the  occasional  flights  of 
guano -producing  sea-birds,  which  fly  at  times  in 
veritable  clouds  upon  the  face  of  the  water.  As 
for  man  and  his  habitations,  except  for  the  few 
seaports  and  the  streets  and  houses  clustered 
around  them,  and  the  irrigated  plantations  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  few  rivers  which  descend  from 
the  Andes  to  the  sea,  across  the  eighty  to  one- 
hundred-mile-wide  strip  of  coast  lands,  and  the 
occasional  pueblo  and  Indian  hamlet,  there  is 
little  to  be  seen.  The  coast  lands  are  mainly  sun- 
beat  deserts,  which  for  hundreds  of  miles  separate 
the  valleys  where  agriculture  is  possible  under 
irrigation.  For  the  coast -zone  of  Peru,  lying 
between  the  foot  of  the  Andes  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  is  a rainless  region  fourteen  hundred  miles 


158  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


long,  extending  southwards,  into  the  appalling 
deserts  of  Tarapaca,  in  Chili.  Rain  practi- 
cally never  falls,  and  the  only  atmospheric 
moisture  is  the  garua  or  evening  mist- 
drizzle  at  certain  seasons.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
upon  this  coast-zone,  which  enjoys  a generally 
excellent  climate  in  other  respects,  that  the 
Spanish-American  peoples  have  mainly  taken 
root ; and  Lima,  the  attractive  capital  of  the 
Republic  of  Peru,  is  situated  thereon,  a short 
distance  inland,  as  well  as  other  cities.1 

Crossing  this  dry  coast-zone,  we  rapidly  ascend 
the  Andes,  and  encounter  climatic  conditions 
exactly  the  reverse  of  those  we  have  left  below. 
Heavy  rainfall  and  snowfall,  bracing  and  rarefied 
air,  and  perpetual  snow  upon  the  summits  are  the 
characteristics  of  this  lofty  region.  Topographi- 
cally this  region  consists  of  great,  high,  bleak 
plateaux,  from  10,000  feet  to  16,000  feet  above 
sea -level,  absolutely  treeless  ; and  to  reach  these 
from  the  coast  or  from  the  interior,  or,  indeed, 
from  each  other,  we  have  to  cross  the  intervening 
ranges  of  the  Andine  Mountain  system — vast 
parallel  ranges  whose  passes  are  rarely  less  than 
14,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and  whose  peaks 
rise  in  some  cases  to  more  than  20,000  feet 
elevation,  far  above  the  line  of  perpetual  snow. 
I have  crossed  these  inclement  plateaux  and 
passes  on  many  occasions,  and  retain  strong 

1 Some  of  the  particulars  in  this  chapter  were  given  in  my 
lecture  to  the  Architectural  Association  of  London  ; also 
before  the  Royal  Society  of  Arts  (Medal  awarded)  and 
Royal  Geographical  Society. 


THE  INCAS 


159 


recollections  of  toilsome  days  and  months  spent 
on  mule-back  amid  their  alternating  sunshine, 
rain,  and  snow — toilsome  yet  full  of  that  peculiar 
pleasure  which  the  traveller  knows.  Some  of 
the  snowy  passes  and  peaks,  indeed,  which  I 
explored  had  never  been  trodden  previously  by 
the  foot  of  a white  man,  nor,  indeed,  of  any 
human  being.  The  mountain  sculpture  of  the 
Andes  is  beautiful  and  striking  ; the  rising  or 
setting  sun  tinges  the  snow-crowned  peaks  with 
that  ruby  glow  known  to  the  Andine  or  Alpine 
traveller,  and  the  vast,  heavenward-pointing 
ridges  of  upturned  strata  of  the  Silurian  or 
Cretaceous  periods  and  the  great  uplifts  of 
plutonic  rocks  form  mighty  fagades  and  far- 
reaching  Andine  towers  and  aisles — an  eternal 
architecture  which  surmounts  the  work  of  man’s 
hands  that  lies  below,  and  perhaps  has  influenced 
its  character. 

I have  dwelt  thus  upon  the  climate  and  topo- 
graphy of  Peru  because  it  bears  in  an  important 
way  upon  the  architecture  of  the  Incas  and  pre- 
Incas  who  flourished  there  in  past  ages.  The 
mural  remains  of  these  people,  their  great  monu- 
ments in  stone  and  sun-dried  brick  are  found 
all  over  the  region  of  the  Cordillera,  and  to  a 
lesser  extent  upon  the  coast,  and  their  character 
varies  much  in  accordance  with  their  situation 
and  climatic  environment.  Thus  upon  the  rain- 
less coast-zone  the  buildings  were  largely  of 
adobe,  or  sun-dried  earthen  bricks,  the  well- 
known  material  used  throughout  Spanish- 
America  to-day,  whether  in  Mexico,  Peru,  or 


160  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Chile  ; whilst  as  we  rise  to  the  rainy  region  of 
the  mountains  we  observe  that  they  are  of  stone, 
shapen  or  unshapen.  The  adobe  lasts  for 
centuries  on  the  dry  coast  plains ; it  would 
have  perished  long  ago  upon  the  rainy  plateaux 
and  become  obliterated,  and  here  it  is  that  the 
beautiful  examples  of  the  stone-shaping  art  of 
these  pre-Hispanic  people  are  found  in  its  per- 
fection. The  whole  region  over  which  these 
monuments  are  found  may  be  taken  as  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  miles  long  by  three  hundred 
miles  wide,  extending  throughout  what  is  now 
Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  part  of  Chile — an 
enormous  range  of  territory  for  a semi-civilised 
people  to  influence,  and  greater  than  that  which 
included  the  civilisation  of  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Nile  together. 

The  Inca  empire  flourished,  as  far  as  can  be 
ascertained,  from  the  time  of  the  first  Inca, 
Manco  Capac,  who  founded  the  dynasty  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  to  the  time 
of  the  arrival  of  Pizarro,  before  whom  it  fell, 
by  the  overthrow  of  Atahualpa  in  1532.  Thus 
it  would  seem  to  have  been  approximately  coeval 
with  the  Aztecs  and  Mayas  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America . 

Like  those,  however,  it  was  far  from  being 
a self -derived  culture.  The  Incas,  of  course, 
were  not  a people,  but  a reigning  family,  domina- 
ting a number  of  peoples,  the  main  body  of  the 
Empire  being  the  Quechuas,  and  the  Quechua 
language  was  spoken  throughout  the  vast  region 
of  this  Empire.  The  Quechua  language,  it  is  to 


TYPES  OF  QUECHUA  NATIVES,  NEAR  CUZCO,  SOUTHERN  PERU, 


THE  INCAS 


161 


be  recollected,  is  still  the  language  of  the  high- 
land people  of  South  America,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Aymara  tongue.  It  was  not  a mere 
Indian  dialect,  but  a language  of  such  gram- 
matical construction  and  attributes  as  must  have 
taken  a thousand  years  of  its  own  peculiar  civi- 
lisation to  evolve.  The  culture  next  preceding 
the  Inca  was  that  of  the  Aymaras,  whom  it  is 
assumed  the  Incas  overthrew. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  civilisation  of  early  Peru 
is  not  to  be  measured  by  the  relatively  recent 
culture  of  the  Incas,  and  this  is  borne  out  by 
examination  of  the  great  stone  monuments — 
temples  and  fortresses — scattered  throughout  the 
country,  whose  respective  epochs  are  readily 
determined.  These  mural  remains  are,  therefore, 
of  different  peoples  and  epochs,  some  being 
probably  only  a few  hundred  years  old,  whilst 
others,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted,  belong  to 
periods  measured  probably  by  thousands  of  years, 
and  of  their  origin  nothing  definitely  is  known. 
The  strong  tendency  to  trace  their  unknown 
builders  to  an  Asiatic  or  at  least  a foreign 
source  is  dwelt  upon  subsequently. 

Even  the  beginning  of  the  Incas  is  wrapped  in 
fable  and  myth.  The  sun,  the  legend  states, 
looking  down  from  heaven,  saw  the  necessity  for 
a more  rapid  civilisation  of  those  vast  regions, 
and  he  sent  forth  a son  to  instruct  the  half -savage 
tribes,  This  son  came  into  the  world — one  legend 
relates — through  the  medium  of  a virgin  birth  : 
a wise  woman,  Mama  Huaco,  being  pregnant, 
gave  out  that  she  had  conceived  by  the  sun. 

11 


162  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


When  the  child  was  born  his  mother  concealed 
him  in  a cave  on  an  island  of  Lake  Titicaca, 
and  in  company  with  her  daughter  worshipped 
him  as  king  and  lord.  The  boy  grew  up 
marvellously  wise,  and  was  acclaimed  by  the 
Indians  as  their  benefactor  and  ruler,  under  the 
name  of  Manco-Capac,  or  the  “ Almighty  Child.” 
He  married  his  own  sister,  and  the  line  of  Inca 
emperors  was  perpetuated  by  the  marriage  of 
the  Inca  with  his  sister.  These  myths  and 
matters  must  have  been  first  pending  about  a 
thousand  years  ago,  and  the  names  and  history 
of  some  thirteen  Inca  rulers  from  Manco-Capac 
down  to  Atahualpa,  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest 
in  1532,  are  recorded.1 

The  Empire  of  the  Incas  had  as  its  main 
centres  Cuzco — the  word  itself  signifies  “ the 
navel  ” — in  Peru,  and  Quito,  the  capital  of 
Ecuador,  upon  the  equator  ; and  these  centres 
were  connected  by  the  famous  Inca  roads,  which 
some  historians — generally  those  who  have  not 
seen  them — have  described  as  equal  to  the  roads 
of  the  Romans,  which  statement  is  far  from  being 
true.  The  accounts  of  these  roads  as  struc- 
tures have  been  grossly  exaggerated.  I have 
traversed  them  at  various  points,  and  have 
described  them  elsewhere.2  They  were,  however, 
means  of  communication  of  the  utmost  value  to 
the  Empire,  and  although  they  were  nothing  more 
than  trails  for  the  llamas,  those  wonderful  camels 
of  the  Andes  which  were  the  only  beasts  of 

1 Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  the  Inca  historian. 

2 “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 


THE  INCAS 


163 


burden  known  to  the  people,  who  possessed 
neither  horses  nor  wheeled  vehicles,  they  gave 
access  from  place  to  place,  and  were  traversed 
by  the  remarkable  system  of  posts  and  postmen 
maintained  by  the  Inca  Government.  These 
roads,  from  Cuzco  to  Quito,  were  more  than 
1,100  miles  long — a distance  greater  than  that 
from  ancient  Babylon  to  Egypt.  Moreover,  as 
engineering  structures  even,  these  roads  were  of 
considerable  merit,  crossing  by  rock-hewn  steps 
the  summits  of  the  Andes  above  the  perpetual 
snow -line,  passing  swampy  lands  by  stone  cause- 
ways, and  rivers  by  means  of  the  remarkable 
suspension  bridges  made  of  woven  grass  or 
osiers,  and  by  stone  structures.  Native  bridges 
of  a somewhat  similar  character  exist  in  the 
Himalayas,  it  is  to  be  noted. 

There  were  two  main  roads . They  both 
traversed  the  country  longitudinally  along  the  line 
of  least  resistance  paralleling  the  ranges  of  the 
Andes.  One,  the  most  remarkable,  ran  along  the 
high  plateaux  and  summits  of  the  Andes  ; the 
other  followed  the  lowlands  of  the  coast.  The 
groups  of  buildings  which  we  are  to  consider 
are  in  some  cases  disposed  along  the  line  of  these 
roads,  or  are  adjacent  thereto,  portions  of  the 
roads  only  remaining  here  and  there . The  struc- 
tures consist  mainly  of  castles  and  fortresses, 
temples,  palaces,  astronomical  observatories, 
tombs,  and  groups  of  habitations  or  towns.  All 
of  these  are  now  abandoned  and  in  ruins,  with 
the  exception  of  some  which  form  the  base  of 
Spanish  structures  at  Cuzco. 


164  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  centre  or  first  materialising-point  of  these 
early  Peruvian  civilisations — leaving  aside  for  the 
moment  those  which  had  their  habitat  on  the 
coast — was  the  remarkable  lake-basin  of  Titicaca 
and  its  environs — a large  territory  contained 
between  the  main  ranges  of  the  Andes,  where 
these  mountains  reach  their  greatest  development 
in  Peru  and  Bolivia.  This  lake,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, is  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable  in 
the  world,  being  12,350  feet  above  sea-level  and 
so  large  that  the  steamer  upon  which  we  embark 
to  traverse  it  takes  us  out  of  sight  of  land.  It 
is  also  noteworthy  in  being,  in  conjunction  with 
its  sister  lake  Poopo,  a hydrographic  entity,  with 
no  outlet  for  its  waters  except  that  of  evapora- 
tion, unless  there  be  some  unknown  subterranean 
vent  to  the  Pacific. 

In  and  around  this  great  plateau  and  lake 
region  are  found  the  most  important  remains  of 
the  Inca  and  pre-Inca  cultures. 

Cuzco,  the  old  Inca  capital,  lies  less  than  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  lake,  and  was  the  great 
Mecca  of  the  people  and  the  seat  of  government. 
Overlooking  the  city — which  to-day  is  an  impor- 
tant, populous  place,  standing  1 1,000  feet  above 
sea-level,  is  what  is  perhaps  the  most  remark- 
able pre-historic  structure  in  the  New  World,  and 
indeed  in  some  respects  in  the  whole  world.  This 
is  the  fortress  of  Sacsaihuaman . It  consists  of 
a series  of  four  or  more  great  walls,  from  1 2 feet 
to  25  feet  high,  forming  terraces  up  the  hillside 
1,800  feet  long.  It  is  difficult  to  obtain  an 
adequate  idea  of  this  structure  from  photographs. 


AN  INCA  STREET  AT  CUZCO. 


THE  INCAS 


165 


due  to  its  extent  and  massiveness.  The  walls 
are  built  as  great  revetments,  with  twenty  salients 
at  regular  intervals,  the  masonry  being  formed 
of  Cyclopean  worked  stones,  which  in  some  cases 
are  nearly  20  feet  high,  weighing  many  tons. 

We  are  at  once  struck  on  observing  the 
walls  of  this  fortress,  as  well  as  those  of  others 
of  the  Inca  buildings,  with  the  remarkable 
character  of  the  masonry,  not  so  much  by  the 
size  of  the  monoliths  as  by  what  is  either  a 
singular  disregard  of  uniformity  and  alignment 
in  the  joints  or  is  a curious,  purposeful  variation 
of  these.  Thus  we  see  that  each  stone  is  an 
individual,  not  a counterpart ; a polygon,  not  a 
cube.  In  some  cases  the  stones  are  cut  out  to 
fit  each  other  in  a way  such  as  must  have  involved 
much  labour,  especially  when  it  is  recollected 
that  the  Inca  masons  probably  had  no  means  of 
laying  out  angles  ; so  that  presumably  the  stones 
were  made  to  fit  each  other  by  the  laborious 
method  of  constantly  removing  and  replacing. 
It  might  seem  that  this  giving  of  an  individuality 
of  form  to  each  stone  was  a nice  and  purposeful 
art,  or  carried  out  for  some  now  unknown  reason. 
Notwithstanding  this  diversity  of  surface,  the 
contact  between  the  stones  is  generally  so  perfect 
that  a knife -blade  cannot  be  inserted  ; and  there 
is  no  mortar.  In  some  of  the  temples,  it  is  stated 
by  the  Inca  historian  Garcilaso,  gold  and  silver 
was  used  as  a bedding  material  for  the  stones. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  reason  for  this 
lack  of  uniformity  in  the  Inca  masonry,  it  is 
singularly  beautiful  and  unique,  and  the  walls 


166  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


have  well  resisted  the  ravages  of  time  and  the 
elements.  In  the  streets  of  Cuzco  some  well- 
preserved  examples  of  Inca  walls  form  part  of 
modern  buildings,  as  before  mentioned.  A good 
example  is  the  wall  which  was  the  base  of  the 
Palace  of  Huayna  Capac,  one  of  the  latest  Inca 
emperors.  Here  massive  stones  are  encountered, 
polygonal  in  form,  fitting  perfectly  into  each 
other.  One  of  these,  it  will  be  observed,  is  a 
twelve-sided  polygon.  This  wall  forms  part  of 
an  Inca  street,  which  is  used  to-day.  In  the 
city  of  Cuzco  there  are  other  Inca  buildings, 
notably  the  remains  of  what  was  the  Temple  of 
the  Sun,  with  a curved  front.  Overlooking  the 
valley  we  have  also  the  singular  steps  or  terraces, 
cut  out  of  the  living  rock,  which  is  termed  “ the 
seat  of  the  Inca,”  and  it  is  stated  that  the  Inca 
Emperor  took  his  seat  here  to  watch  the  con- 
struction of  the  great  fortress. 

Analogies  have  been  drawn  by  some  observers 
between  the  massive  Inca  stonework  and  that 
of  Easter  Island,  and,  indeed,  with  the  stone- 
mason’s art  in  Greece,  as  noted  elsewhere.  The 
Inca  stonework  was  noteworthy  in  its  character. 
“ The  world  has  nothing  to  show  in  the  way  of 
stone  cutting  and  fitting  to  equal  the  skill  and 
accuracy  displayed  in  the  Inca  structures  of 
Cuzco.”  1 

At  about  a day’s  ride  from  Cuzco  we  reach 
the  head  of  the  Yucay  Valley,  and  see  its  base 
4,000  feet  below.  Upon  the  slope  of  this 
remarkable  valley — it  is  one  of  those  which  drain 
1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Peru.” 


types  OF  NATIVE  WOMEN  AT  TIAHUANACO,  HOLIN' 1 


To  face  p.  166. 


THE  INCAS 


167 


into  the  affluents  of  the  Amazon — the  ruins  of 
another  remarkable  fortress  are  encountered — 
that  of  Ollantaytambo . This  also  consists  of 
great  terraces  of  Cyclopean  masonry.  We  also 
observe  here,  in  this  structure,  a common  feature 
of  Inca  architecture — the  series  of  niches  in  the 
walls,  with  their  characteristic  trapezoidal  form, 
giving  a unique  and  handsome  effect.  No  style 
of  building  could  accord  so  well  with  its  environ- 
ment as  these  massive  structures  of  the  Incas. 
Possibly  the  builders  were  influenced  by  the 
mighty  mountains  which  overhang  their  valleys, 
as  I have  before  averred,  and  strove  to  adapt 
their  work  to  the  stupendous  Andine  archi- 
tecture on  every  hand,  which  they  conceived  per- 
haps as  fashioned  by  the  “ Unknown  God  ” to 
whom  some  of  their  temples  were  raised. 

Another  remarkable  group  of  ruins  in  the  same 
region  is  that  of  Intihuatana  and  Pisac.  The 
latter  is  another  imposing  fortress  upon  the  summit 
of  the  mountains,  a remarkable  situation  with  an 
extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  canons.  But 
this  fortress  of  Pisac  had  its  own  sacred  pur- 
pose. It  enclosed — and  still  encloses— the  temple 
wherein  stands  the  famous  astronomical  stone  or 
pillar  of  Intihuatana.  This  word  means  in  the 
Quechua  tongue,  “ the  seat  or  throne  of  the  sun,” 
or  the  place  “ where  the  sun’s  rays  are  collected.” 
The  pillar  was,  in  fact,  the  instrument  by  which 
the  Inca  astronomer-priests  determined  the 
solstices.  The  column,  now  broken,  but  still 
existing,  is  worked  out  of  the  solid  rock.  It  is 
enclosed  by  a circular  tower,  and  in  this  the 


168  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


priests  observed  the  shadow  of  the  column  upon 
an  east  and  west  line  inscribed  upon  a circle 
which  surrounded  it.  When  the  day  approached 
great  feasts  were  celebrated,  and  a golden  stool 
was  placed  upon  the  shaft,  so  that  “ Inti,”  the 
sun,  might  “ sit  down  ” upon  it,  for  the  solstice. 
There  were  others  of  these  astronomical  pillars 
throughout  Peru  and  Ecuador,  but  they  were 
generally  destroyed  by  the  Spanish  priests  after 
the  Conquest,  as  “ things  of  the  devil  ” ! The 
fortress  and  buildings  surrounding  the  column- 
chamber  are  beautifully  executed  — stone-built 
corridors,  halls,  and  chambers  ; whilst  the  whole 
place,  surrounded  by  beetling  precipices  and  pro- 
tected by  revetments  of  granite  masonry,  is 
impregnable.  In  the  rock  walls  of  the  valley 
are  seen  ancient  tombs  in  absolutely  inaccessible 
positions  to-day.  These  great  fortresses  com- 
manded the  valleys  leading  down  to  the  region 
of  the  Amazonian  forests  below,  and  were  to 
protect  Cuzco  and  the  Empire  from  the  incur- 
sions of  the  savage  tribes  dwelling  there.  Even 
to-day  the  forest  region  beyond  the  Andes  is 
a savage,  unexplored  territory  in  great  part, 
inhabited  by  bands  of  Indians,  although  the  busi- 
ness of  rubber-gathering  is  opening  it  up  to  some 
extent,  and  bringing  in  “ civilisation  ” — if  the 
particular  kind  of  commerce  sometimes  carried 
out  with  an  accompaniment  of  alcohol,  rifle- 
bullets,  abductions,  and  torture  may  be  so 
termed  ! 1 

1 A serious  exposure  of  this  matter  was  recently  made  con- 
cerning the  Peruvian  Amazon  by  the  British  Foreign  Office. 


THE  INCAS 


169 


The  Incas  penetrated  but  little  into  these  dense 
Amazonian  forests  and  valleys.  There  are,  how- 
ever, evidences  of  some  pre-historic  activity  in 
that  vast  region,  and  it  may  be  that  more 
extended  exploration  may  unearth  vestiges  of 
some  bygone  culture.  There  are  indications 
which  almost  cause  the  observer  to  ask  if  some 
powerful  semi-civilisation  did  not  at  one  time 
inhabit  the  forest  region,  and  it  has  even  been 
conjectured  that  the  savage  tribes  are  the 
degenerate  remains  of  such. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  centre  for  the 
archaeologist — at  any  rate,  it  is  the  most  ancient 
— is  that  of  the  ruins  of  Tiahuanaco,  near  the 
southern  end  of  Lake  Titicaca,  about  three  hun- 
dred miles  away  from  Cuzco  on  the  border  of 
Bolivia.  Here  we  find  ruins  which  in  a sense 
are  more  remarkable  than  those  of  Cuzco, 
because  far  more  antique.  The  temples  and 
fortresses  of  Cuzco  date  only  from  the  eleventh 
century,  or  later,  of  the  Christian  era,  when  the 
Inca  dynasty  came  to  being  ; those  of  Tiahuanaco 
and  others  are  of  unknown  age,  and  doubtless 
were  built  by  the  Aymaras  at  the  time  of  their 
greatest  culture  before  their  overthrow,  or  even 
by  predecessors  of  those  people.  Some  writers, 
indeed,  have  maintained  that  they  were  con- 
temporaneous with  Babylon  or  Assyria.  But  be 
it  as  it  may,  they  are  of  a different  type  to  that 
which  the  Inca  stone-shaping  art  produced,  and 
they  form  the  ruins  of  the  oldest  city  in  the  New 
World,  here  upon  this  high,  bleak,  sterile  plateau 
of  Titicaca,  more  than  two  miles  vertically  above 


170  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  level  of  the  sea,  void  of  almost  everything 
necessary  for  human  life. 

The  ruins  of  Tiahuanaco  consist  mainly  of  the 
outline  of  a great  temple,  shown  by  rows  of 
upright  monoliths,  foundations,  parts  of  stair- 
ways, a monolithic  stone  doorway,  some  colossal 
stone  figures,  and  great  stone  platforms . A huge 
mound  remains  of  what  was  formerly  a truncated 
pyramid  about  600  feet  long,  400  feet  wide,  and 
50  feet  high.  Remains  of  terraces  are  seen,  and 
squared  stones  are  strewn  about,  remnants  of 
these  ruins.  The  stones  of  Tiahuanaco  are  in 
some  cases  carved  with  hieroglyphs  or  low  reliefs, 
and  this  distinguishes  the  pre-Inca  from  the  Inca 
period. 

The  question  has  been  raised  of  how  these 
monoliths  were  transported  to  their  site  ; but  if 
we  take  into  account  the  hydrographic  conditions 
of  the  site,  which  might  have  been  formerly  an 
island  when  Lake  Titicaca  was  more  extensive 
than  even  now,  it  is  conceivable  that  they  were 
floated  to  the  spot,  and  possibly  their  quarries 
were  nearer  at  hand  than  has  been  supposed. 
Indeed,  the  existence  of  former  quarry  sites  has 
been  established  in  the  neighbouring  hills.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  some  of  these  monoliths,  both 
here  and  at  Cuzco,  have  been  transported  for 
great  distances  over  the  most  broken  country 
imaginable,  and  their  carriage  presents  the  same 
question  as  has  been  aroused  concerning  the 
monoliths  of  Egypt.  We  must,  of  course,  take 
into  account  the  hauling  capacity  of  great  bodies 
of  Indians,  acting  under  autocratic  direction. 


MONOLITHIC  DOORWAY  OF  TIAHUANACO,  BOLIVIA. 


THE  INCAS 


171 


Near  Cuzco  is  an  enormous  stone  which  had 
been  abandoned  on  the  road,  and  an  Indian 
tradition  says  that  the  stone  “ wept  tears  of 
blood”  at  being  left  there.  These  great  stones 
of  Tiahuanaco,  unlike  the  Inca  walls,  are  in 
some  cases  very  richly  carved.  The  most 
remarkable  of  them  is  the  monolithic  doorway  of 
Akapana,  carved  with  a kind  of  frieze  in  bas- 
relief  of  figures,  the  central  one  of  which  has 
been  taken  by  Peruvian  archaeologists  to  repre- 
sent the  mystic  deity  Huirakocha.  Some  of  the 
lesser  figures  have  human  bodies,  hands,  and 
feet ; some  human  heads,  others  heads  of 
condors  ; some  wear  crowns  and  carry  sceptres, 
and  they  appear  to  be  in  an  attitude  of  adoration 
of  the  central  figure,  which  itself  holds  sceptres, 
carved  with  the  heads  of  tigers  and  condors, 
which  were  probably  symbolical  of  strength  and 
power.  This  central  figure  of  Huirakocha  (or 
Viracocha)  was  the  supreme  god  of  the  Andine 
people,  typical  of  the  “ Abyss  of  the  Waters,” 
as  was  “ Ea  ” among  the  Chaldeans.  Among 
other  notable  monoliths  of  this  group  is  a stone 
image,  about  twice  the  height  of  a man,  which 
stands  upon  the  plain.  One  hand  of  the  figure 
holds  a fish  sculptured  against  its  breast,  a feature 
of  much  archaeological  importance,  to  which 
reference  is  made  elsewhere.  An  analogy  has 
been  drawn  by  some  observers  with  the  remains 
on  Easter  Island,  later  described. 

It  is  a regrettable  thing  that  these  ruins  of 
Tiahuanaco  are  being  destroyed,  forming,  as  they 
do,  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the 


172  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


little-known  history  of  early  Peru.  The  buildings 
have  been  ruthlessly  despoiled  of  their  stones, 
first  by  the  Spaniards  for  church-building,  and 
later  by  modern  vandals,  especially  the  builders 
of  the  Guaqui-La  Paz  railway,  who,  it  is  stated, 
“ have  taken  away  within  the  last  ten  years  more 
than  five  hundred  trainloads  of  stone  for  building 
its  bridges  and  warehouses.”  1 Many  valuable 
antiquities,  however,  are  preserved  in  the  Bolivian 
Government  Museum  at  La  Paz. 

Both  Cuzco  and  Tiahuanaco  can  be  reached 
by  rail,  the  former  place  being  now  the  terminus 
of  the  new  extension  of  the  line. 

Upon  the  islands  of  Lake  Titicaca  there  are 
other  remarkable  ruins,  both  Inca  and  pre-Inca. 
From  this  island  it  was  that  Manco  Capac,  the 
first  Inca,  whose  virgin  birth  as  a redeemer  of 
man  is  part  of  the  Inca  mythology,  set  out  to 
civilise  the  savage  tribes  of  the  Andes,  as  before 
described.  There  are  other  remains  on  this 
island,  as  also  upon  that  of  Coati,  ruined 
temples  to  the  sun  and  the  moon.  In  the  Titicaca 
region  there  is  also  the  remarkable  ruin  known 
as  the  “ Temple  of  Huirakocha  ” — huge  walls 
which  probably  were  never  completed  ; work  of 
the  Aymaras,  upon  which  possibly  these  people 
were  engaged  when  overthrown.  For  further 
descriptions  of  these  places  the  reader  may  be 
referred  to  my  other  books,2  and  to  those  even 
more  detailed  works  of  other  authors. 

1 “Across  South  America,”  Bingham,  1911. 

2 “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon,”  London,  1907.  Also 
“Peru.” 


The  most  ancient  building  in  the  New  World. 


THE  INCAS 


173 


Still  in  Southern  Peru  there  are  other  extensive 
ruins  of  Inca  towns  and  fortresses,  of  which  but 
little  is  known.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned 
that  of  Choqquequirau,1  an  Inca  structure  with 
some  similarity  to  that  of  Huanuco  Viejo,  later 
described. 

Recently  explorations  2 have  been  undertaken 
in  Peru,  and  further  discoveries  or  examinations 
of  little-known  ruins  are  being  made,  and  know- 
ledge of  these  matters  may  be  extended.  Ex- 
plorations in  these  regions  have  a certain 
advantage,  in  that  the  Inca  and  pre-Inca  remains 
of  buildings  are  generally  situated  in  rocky  places 
uncovered  by  vegetation,  and  not,  as  in  the  case 
of  Babylonian  and  other  remains,  covered  up  by 
drift  or  sand  or  by  volcanic  ash.  The  main 
difficulties  of  their  approach  consist  rather  in 
their  inaccessible  and  remote  positions. 

There  are  many  other  remains  of  the  mega- 
lithic  structures  of  Inca  and  pre-Inca  times 
scattered  about  the  Sierra  or  mountain  region, 
including  those  almost  obliterated  ones  at 
Ayacucho  ; and  at  Huaitara,  between  the  Titicaca 
region  and  the  coast,  are  some  sculptured  mono- 
liths to  which  little  attention  has  been  paid.  In 
the  northern  part  of  Peru  the  Inca  remains 
become  abundant,  and  they,  as  well  as  the  coast 
ruins,  are  considered  in  the  following  chapter. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  religion  of  the 
Incas.  They  were  sun-worshippers,  but  this  em- 
bodied, or  was  part  of,  a chaste  and  earnest 

1 “ Across  South  America,”  Bingham,  1911. 

2 The  Yale  Expedition,  see  Appendix,  1911. 


174  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


religion  of  a much  deeper  character — a religion, 
indeed,  which  might  have  inspired  the  beneficent 
laws  which  governed  the  Empire  and  its  social 
system,  described  in  a subsequent  chapter.  They 
imagined  a Supreme  Being,  an  “ Unknown  God  ” 
who  pervaded  everything,  but  who,  they  recog- 
nised, could  have  no  visible  or  tangible  likeness 
or  form.  At  Cuzco  the  image  of  the  Creator  was 
represented  by  an  elliptical  plate  of  gold  set  on 
the  wall  of  the  temple.  Among  the  Incas  this 
Being  was  addressed  as  Huirakocha,  and  the 
same  conception  was  embodied  in  the  name 
“ Pachacamac,”  which,  translated,  means  “ He 
who  gives  animation  to  the  universe,”  and  con- 
veyed the  idea  of  a Creator  of  all  things.  This 
underlying  belief  in  a Supreme  Being  was,  it 
is  held,  derived  by  the  Incas  from  an  earlier 
culture.  The  Inca  “ prayer  to  the  Creator  ” 1 
may  be  instanced  as  well  representative  of  this 
religion,  and  the  following  is  an  extract : — 

“ Oh,  Creator  ; oh,  conquering  Huirakocha  ! 
ever-present  Huirakocha ; Thou  who  art  with- 
out equal  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth  ; who  givest 
life  and  strength  to  mankind,  saying,  ‘ Let  this 
be  a man,  and  let  this  be  a woman  ’ ; and  as  thou 
sayest,  so  thou  givest  life,  and  dost  vouchsafe 
that  men  shall  dwell  in  peace  and  health.  Thou 
who  dwellest  in  the  heights  of  heaven  and  in 
the  storm-clouds,  hear  us.  Grant  us  eternal  life, 
and  have  us  in  thy  keeping.” 

1 From  the  records  of  Molina,  a Spanish  priest  of  Cuzco 
written  for  the  Bishop  of  Cuzco,  Artaun,  between  1570  and 
1584.  See  the  translation  of  Markham,  Hakluyt  Series. 


MONOLITHIC  FIGURE. 
Ruins  of  Tiahuanaco,  Bolivia. 


To  face  p.  174. 


CHAPTER  X 


PERU— THE  LAND  OF  ENIGMAS 

Northern  Peru — Quito — Huaraz  and  Cajamarca — Pre-Inca 
remains — The,  Upper  Maranon — Castle  of  Chavin — Sub- 
terranean chambers  and  monoliths — The  “ Gentiles  ” — 
The  ancient  fortresses — The  andenes — Former  population 
— Ruins  of  Huanuco  Viejo — Beautiful  stone  doorways — 
The  Inca  palace  and  fortress — Ancient  town — Analogy 
with  Egyptian  structure  ? — Cliff-towers  and  graves — 
Caves  and  mummy-cellars — The  ancient  ruins  of  the 
coast  region  — Pachacamac  — The  only  example  of 
columns — The  Chimus  and  ruins  of  Chan  Chan — Incas 
and  pre-Incas — Copper  tools — Roofs — Embalming  the 
dead — The  Huacas — Mummy-hunting — Peruvian  pottery 
seven  thousand  years  old  ? — Beautiful  ceramic  art  — 
Asiatic  origin  ? — Mongolian  ancestors — Analogies  with 
China — Mysterious  unread  hieroglyphics. 

The  region  last  described,  that  which  has  Cuzco 
as  its  centre,  is  enormously  removed,  of  course, 
from  Central  America  and  Mexico,  but  the  Inca 
Empire  and  the  pre-Inca  culture  extended  north- 
wardly from  the  Titicac  region,  its  real  home,  for 
more  than  twelve  hundred  miles  to  Quito,  in 
Ecuador,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  conceive  that 
there  may  have  been  some  communication 
between  the  Inca  and  the  Maya  cultures,  as 
hinted  elsewhere. 

It  is  the  northern  extension  of  the  Inca  empire 

175 


176  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


that  we  must  consider  here.  Huaraz  and  Caja- 
marca  are  two  important  cities  in  this  region, 
the  first  being  some  four  hundred  miles  and  the 
second  some  six  hundred  miles  from  Cuzco,  both 
on  the  road  to  Quito,  yet  another  four  hundred 
miles  beyond.  Portions  of  the  Inca  road  still 
serve  as  modern  trails,  and,  indeed,  the  trails 
have  been  scarcely  improved  since  the  horses 
of  Pizarro’s  band  first  ascended  the  Andes. 

■Huaraz  is  a typical  interior  Andine  town, 
10,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and  overhung  by  the 
snowy  Cordillera  to  the  east.  Three  days’  mule- 
riding, over  some  of  the  most  execrable  trails  in 
the  world,  reaching  an  elevation  of  14,000  feet, 
take  the  traveller  into  the  valley  of  Huaylas, 
where  Huaraz  is  situated.  The  town  can  also 
be  reached  by  a three-days’  journey,  over  roads 
equally  bad,  crossing  the  main  range  of  the 
snowy  Cordillera,  from  railhead  at  Cerro  de 
Pasco,  the  terminus  of  a branch  line  of  the  Oroya 
railway.  I explored  an  untried  pass  over  the 
perpetual  snow-cap  near  Huaraz  at  the  request 
of  the  authorities,  for  the  purpose  of  construction 
of  a new  road. 1 A railway  has  long  been  planned 
for  the  valley  of  Huaraz  or  Huaylas,  but  has 
never  been  carried  out. 

There  are  many  vestiges  of  the  Inca  and  pre- 
Inca  cultures  in  this  neighbourhood.  At  Huaraz 
existed  a square  fortress  formerly,  with  sculp- 
tured walls  “ showing  figures  of  men  greater  than 
natural  size.  Also  the  animals  and  flowers 
carved  upon  the  walls  and  other  ancient  ruins 
1 See  “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 


— ffTOTT 


{Drawn  on  the  spot  by  the  Author .) 
Inca  Palace. 


PERU 


177 


are  tokens  of  great  antiquity.”  1 The  aboriginal 
empire  of  the  pre-Incas  must  have  been  strongly 
established  in  this  neighbourhood.  Into  the 
adobe  walls  of  the  cemetery  at  Huaraz  are  built 
ancient  stones  with  Inca  masks,  and  a few  miles 
away  is  a singular  underground  chamber,  which 
I examined,  and  from  which  some  gold  and  other 
objects,  including  sea-shells,  were  taken.2 

The  region  of  the  Upper  Maranon  is  still  more 
remote — two  days’  ride  from  Huaraz  to  the  east. 
Upon  the  way  an  Inca  pass  of  rock-hewn  steps 
is  traversed,  at  an  elevation  of  nearly  i 5,000  feet 
above  sea-level,  and  this  range  forms  the  water- 
parting  of  South  America. 3 Descending  thence 
to  the  east,  we  reach  a small  affluent  of  the 
Maranon,  spanned  by  a monolithic  Inca  bridge, 
with  sculptured  heads  built  into  the  pillars,  and 
approach  the  Castle  of  Chavin.  This  castle, 
which  I examined,  is  largely  in  ruins,  but  there 
are  numerous  singular  underground  chambers 
and  passages,  the  purpose  of  whose  construction 
it  is  difficult  to  understand,  and  time  did  not 
permit  me  an  extended  exploration.  The  walls 
are  of  blocks  of  hewn  stone.  But  the  main 
point  of  interest  here  is  the  singular  carved 
monoliths,  doubtless  of  pre-Inca  origin,  which 
Sxist  or  existed  here.  One  of  these,  a beautifully 
carved  stone  about  twice  the  height  of  a man, 
was  transported  over  the  Andes  and  down  to 
Lima,  on  the  coast,  where  it  stands  in  the  Exhi- 
bition Park.  Another,  in  the  form  of  a column, 

1 “ El  Peru  en  1906,”  Lima. 

2,  3 Illustrated  in  “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 

12 


178  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


with  carved  snake-heads  upon  it,  yet  remains 
in  place  in  a subterranean  chamber,  and  there 
I examined  it.  Chavin  is  of  the  pre-Inca  period, 
or  at  least  these  bas-reliefs  are. 

The  whole  of  this  remote  region  of  the  Upper 
Maranon  is  dotted  with  the  ruined  dwellings  of 
the  former  occupiers  of  the  land.  Houses, 
terraces,  fortresses,  of  unhewn  stone,  sometimes 
in  the  most  inaccessible  positions,  upon  high 
ridges,  towards  which  the  night -mist  from  the 
Maranon  rolls  up  in  fleecy  folds  like  a mysterious 
pall,  and  from  it  these  ruined  castles  and  walls 
start  suddenly  as  we  behold  them,  like  the  ghosts 
of  the  dwellings  of  a vanished  race — which  in- 
deed they  are — weird  and  unique.  I have,  upon 
my  expeditions  with  my  men  and  mules,  often 
been  obliged  to  sleep  in  these  ruined  places, 
sheltering  from  rain  and  snow,  in  the  absence 
of  other  habitation.  The  disposal  of  these 
numerous  ruins,  often  about  a central  fortress 
commanding  the  heads  of  valleys,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  abandoned  andenes  or  ter- 
raced fields  of  these  people,  goes  to  show  that 
the  inhabitants  lived  as  clans,  or  “ Gentiles,”  and 
their  ruined  dwellings  are  termed  by  the  Indians 
of  the  Andes  to-day  “ casas  de  los  Gentiles,” 
or  “ houses  of  the  Gentiles.” 

These  andenes,  or  one-time  cultivated  ter- 
races, are  a striking  feature  of  the  Andes  ; they 
were  so  termed  by  the  Spaniards,  and  have  fur- 
nished one  origin  of  the  name  of  the  mountains. 
I have  journeyed  among  these  interminable 
slopes  in  many  parts  of  Peru,  and  marked  the 


BAS-RELIEF  FROM  CHAVIN,  NORTHERN  PERU, 
OF  FIGURES  WITH  SCEPTRES. 


To  face  p.  178. 


PERU 


179 


vestiges  of  ancient  cultivation  on  the  sides  of 
these  profound  and  interminable  valleys,  where 
only  scattered  Indian  hamlets  and  mouldering 
ruins  exist  to-day.  This  part  of  Peru  offers  no 
field  for  the  mere  tourist.  There  are  no 
approaches  to  it  by  railway,  such  as  at  Cuzco 
and  Tiahuanaco.  The  traveller  whose  fortune 
it  is  to  traverse  the  remote  region  of  the  Andes 
of  Peru  and  Bolivia,  but  especially  of  the  former 
country,  will  constantly  be  reminded  of  the 
existence  of  a population  long  ago,  where  to-day 
all  is  silent  and  desolate.  Nothing  has  more 
strongly  impressed  me  in  the  long  periods 
spent  in  those  elevated  regions  than  the  evi- 
dences of  the  intensive  way  in  which  the  soil 
was  cultivated  by  the  early  Peruvians.  Sitting 
astride  our  mules  on  some  high  ridge  as  the 
sunset  shadows  fall  athwart  those  little -known 
valleys  of  the  great  Cordillera,  we  may  mark 
how  the  declining  light  touches  the  inequalities  of 
the  distant  slopes,  giving  a singular  rippled  or 
chequered  appearance.  This  effect  is  caused  by 
the  innumerable  terraces  or  andenes,  the  small 
fields,  one  above  the  other  up  the  precipitous 
hillsides,  fashioned  in  a way  such  as  must  be 
seen  to  be  believed. 

The  andenes  are  formed  by  the  method  of  ex- 
cavating the  soil  on  the  upper  side  and  embank- 
ing it  on  the  lower,  the  earthwork  thus  levelled 
being  surrounded  on  three  sides  with  rough 
masonry  retaining  walls,  slightly  battered,  as  in 
the  case  of  all  stonework  of  the  Inca  period.j 
Above  the  first  anden  a second  was  made,  fol- 


180  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


lowed  by  another,  and  so  on  until  the  whole 
mountain-side  was  covered,  like  a gigantic  flight 
of  stairs.  In  some  districts  every  hill-slope  is 
or  has  been  so  covered,  and  the  terraces  must 
have  numbered  millions.  The  lowest  of  these 
terraces  are  naturally  the  largest,  in  conformity, 
with  the  usual  slope  of  a hill,  and  they  diminish 
in  size  as  they  go  upwards,  ascending  thousands 
of  feet  often,  from  the  level  of  plains  and  streams 
up  to  where  they  are  hidden  in  clouds  and  mists. 
In  some  cases,  on  the  steep  ravines  or  semi- 
precipitous  slopes  the  top  terraces  are  of  a size 
such  as  gave  room  only  for  two  or  three  rows  of 
maize,  so  industrious  were  the  people  and  so 
highly  was  land  considered.  Moreover,  they 
were  served  by  an  irrigation  channel,  and  these, 
as  before  mentioned,  were  at  times  many  miles 
in  length.  A conduit  of  this  nature  must  be  of 
a considerable  length  necessarily,  to  “ gain  alti- 
tude ” from  its  source  in  the  river.  These 
terraces  and  aqueducts  are  found  throughout 
Peru  and  the  Andine  region  generally. 

As  we  regard  these  evidences  of  past  handi- 
work we  shall  reflect  that  a population  that 
carried  out  such  enterprises  must  have  been  far 
more  numerous  than  the  scanty  inhabitants  of 
the  Andes  to-day.  Indeed,  it  has  been  calculated 
that  the  population  of  the  Inca  Empire  at  the 
zenith  of  its  fortunes  might  have  reached 
90,000,000.;  This  is  palpably  an  absurdity;  but: 
there  can  be  no  doubt — and  it  is,  in  fact,  a matter 
of  history — that  a population  many  times  greater 
than  the  3,000,000  of  Peru  to-day  must  have 


PERU 


181 


had  their  being  in  those  mysterious  uplands, 
where,  since  the  advent  of  the  Spaniard,  only 
scattered  villages  and  mouldering  ruins  exist. 

The  principal  group  of  ruins  in  this  part  of 
Peru,  apart  from  Chavin,  is  that  of  Huanuco 
Viejo,  of  which  I made  a special  study.  It  stands 
upon  a broad,  flat  plain  upon  an  arm  of  the 
Maranon,  at  an  elevation  of  about  12,000  feet 
above  sea -level,  and  consists  of  an  extensive 
palace,  a fortress  or  temple  of  the  sun,  baths, 
and  an  extensive  village  of  streets,  with  a sin- 
gular series  of  round  and  square  dwellings,  alter- 
nating, in  long  rows.  The  chief  architectural 
feature  of  the  buildings  is  a series  of  stone  door- 
ways, really  beautiful  examples  of  Inca  masonry, 
and  the  castle  or  temple.  In  the  palace  there 
are  six  of  these  doorways,  all  standing  in  a line 
at  considerable  distances  apart,  so  that  the 
observer  who  takes  his  stand  in  front  of  one  of 
them  is  enabled  to  see  through  the  whole  series. 
The  line  so  taken  through  them  is  about  east  and 
west.  The  total  length  across  the  courtyards  or 
halls  to  which  these  doorways  give  access  is 
about  400  feet.  The  doorways  are  of  typical 
Inca  tapering  or  trapezoidal  form,  with  quoins 
and  lintels  of  beautifully  fitted  stones,  the  latter 
of  the  more  or  less  polygonal  form  previously 
described,  and  so  closely  fitted  that  a knife-blade 
cannot  be  inserted  in  the  joints.  No  mortar  has 
been  used.  The  lintels  are  monoliths  of  nearly 
7 feet  in  length  in  some  cases,  and  the  thickness 
is  about  3 feet,  which  is  that  of  the  walls  of 
which  they  form  part.  The  characteristic 


182  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


niches,  also  of  trapezoidal  form,  are  a marked 
feature  of  the  walls  of  these  ruins.  The  same 
niches  are  found  elsewhere  in  the  Inca 
buildings,  as,  for  example,  at  Ollantaytambo. 

The  castle,  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  what 
was  a huge  square,  around  which  the  palace  or 
palaces  are  disposed,  is  a building  of  different 
character.  It  is  rectangular  in  form,  about 
ioo  feet  wide  and  170  feet  long,  very  solidly, 
constructed  of  cut  stone  blocks  surmounted  by 
a :cornice,  whose  moulding  is  composed  of  a 
fillet  and  cavetto,  as  in  the  Doric  order.  The 
whole  plain  in  the  vicinity  is  covered  with  the 
ruins  of  small  habitations,  generally  of  unhewn 
stone.  All  the  masonry  of  these  ruins  is  com- 
posed of  blocks  of  silicious  limestone,  which  have 
been  extracted  from  a stratified  hill  at  the  edge 
of  the  plain.  In  this  castle  or  temple,  whichever 
it  were,  some  similarity  to  Egyptian  form  may 
perhaps  be  traced. 

This  plain  and  its  hills,  and  the  ruins  of  the 
palaces,  castles,  and  dwellings  are  absolutely  un- 
inhabited, except  for  an  occasional  Indian  shep- 
herd, and  these,  I was  informed  by  my  men, 
occasionally  vary  that  occupation  by  horse- 
stealing. I pitched  my  tent  under  the  shelter 
of  the  palace  walls,  and  in  the  night  a commo- 
tion among  my  mules  seemed  to  suggest  that 
some  prowling  robber  might  be  about ; and  as 
a warning  I lifted  up  a corner  of  the  tent  canvas 
and  fired  a couple  of  revolver  shots  up  into  the 
night  air.  When  morning  dawned  we  found 
tracks  of  sandalled  feet,  but  nothing  was  missing. 


RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO. 
(.Drawn  on  the  spot  by  the  Author.) 
Doorway  to  the  Inca  Palace. 


PERU 


183 


I sketched  the  chief  features  of  the  place,  and  rode 
along  the  abandoned  streets  of  the  Inca  village, 
where  even  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  it 
was  stated  by  the  brother  of  Pizarro,  who  visited 
them,  the  Incas  maintained  a population  of 
30,000  souls.  Now  the  wild  oats  wave  above 
the  entablature  of  the  palace  of  the  Incas,  and 
the  declining  rays  of  the  sun  fall  softly  across 
the  ruined  walls  as  I ascend  the  range  of 
hills  above  the  Maranon.  These  ruins  of 
Huanuco  Viejo  are  of  much  interest,  and,  as 
far  as  I am  aware,  they  had  never  been  pre- 
viously depicted.1  My  photographic  films  had 
become  exhausted,  and  I have  only  my  sketches 
to  illustrate  them,  which,  however,  were  made 
with  exactitude.  One  remarkable  fact  we  must 
recollect  with  regard  to  these  great  stone  struc- 
tures of  the  high  plateaux— they  are  in  a region 
at  a vast  elevation  above  sea -level,  where  there 
is  little  vegetation,  absolutely  no  timber,  except 
a few  bushes  in  the  ravines,  and  where  corn  or 
other  cereals  will  not  ripen.2 

Beyond  this  point  the  old  Inca  highway 
descends  to  the  river  by  a stairway  of  rough - 
hewn  stones  and  traverses  an  arm  of  Lake  Lauri- 
cocha,  the  main  source  of  the  Maranon,  over  a 
stone  causeway  of  Inca  construction.  On  every 
hand  are  the  remains  of  the  andenes,  some 
of  them  still  cultivated,  whilst  the  ruins  of  the 

1 They  were,  however,  visited  by  the  well-known  Peruvian 
traveller  Raimondi  half  a century  ago. 

2 For  plans  and  further  sketches  of  these  ruins,  see  my 
paper  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 


184  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


old  clan  castles  where  these  sturdy  highland 
chiefs  lived,  either  previous  to  or  contempo- 
raneous with  the  Inca  regimen,  catch  our  eyes 
at  every  turn.  Round  towers  and  square  towers 
on  the  edges  of  beetling  cliffs  we  mark,  and  a 
mysterious  row  of  towers  on  a hilltop,  practically 
inaccessible,  whilst  amid  crags  and  rock-strata 
are  Inca  burial-places,  tenanted  by  skulls  and 
bones.  The  Indians  often  fear  to  enter  these 
caves  and  cellars,  and  at  times  earnestly  advised 
me  not  to  do  so,  averring  that  some  evil  befalls 
those  who  meddle  with  the  resting-places  of  the 
dead.  The  same  experience  befell  me  indeed 
in  Mexico,  and  naturally  the  thoughtful  traveller 
behaves  with  the  utmost  tact  in  such  circum- 
stances. 

Cajamarca  lies  much  more  to  the  north  and 
is  reached  from  the  coast.  A line  of  railway 
was  begun  long  ago  from  the  seaport,  but  died 
a natural  death  after  crossing  the  coast-zone  and 
reaching  the  base  of  the  Cordillera.  It  was  here 
that  Atahualpa,  the  last  reigning  Inca  chief,  was 
treacherously  betrayed  by  Pizarro  and  bar- 
barously done  to  death,  notwithstanding  the 
“ golden  vessels  of  Jerusalem,”  or  rather  Cuzco, 
that  had  been  desecrated  for  his  ransom,  and 
conveyed  thither  from  all  parts  of  the  empire  to 
fill  his  prison  chamber. 

•We  must  now  leave  the  highlands  or  Sierra, 
and  descend  to  the  lowlands  of  the  Pacific,  and 
here  very  different  climatic  and  topographical 
conditions  await  us.  Here  are  rainless  deserts 
and  irrigated  valleys  ; the  Andes  are  but  a faint, 


PERU 


185 


grey,  serrated  edge  on  the  eastern  horizon,  and 
on  this  flat  littoral  it  seems  impossible  that  we 
had  battled  with  icy  gales  two  or  three  miles 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  or  traversed  those 
high,  bleak  punas  on  the  roof  of  the  world. 

The  principal  ruins  of  the  Incas,  pre-Incas, 
and  other  semi-civilised  former  occupants  of  the 
coast,  are  mainly  of  buildings  constructed  of 
adobe,  and  have  remained — where  they  have 
remained  at  all — due  to  the  dry  climatic  con- 
ditions as  before  mentioned.  The  most  famous 
of  these  ruins  formerly  was  that  of  Pachacamac, 
which  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  was  a splendid 
temple  raised  to  the  “ Unknown  God,”  and  great 
spoil  of  golden  vessels  and  plates  was  secured 
from  this  place  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  ransom 
of  Atahualpa.  The  name  “ Pachacamac  ” signi- 
fies in  Quechua — the  language  of  the  Andine 
people  — “ He  who  gives  animation  to  the 
Universe.”  To-day  nothing  remains  of  this 
great  temple  but  a mound  of  rubbish,  a day’s 
ride  from  Lima.  Proceeding  along  the  coast- 
zone  to  the  south,  we  shall  reach  a group  of  ruins 
known  as  “ Incahuasi  ” or  “ the  house  of  the 
Inca.”  These,  unlike  the  coast  ruins  generally, 
are  of  stone,  although  they  lack  the  beautiful 
workmanship  of  the  mural  remains  we  have 
visited  in  the  Andes.  But  they  are  unique  in 
one  respect — they  contain  a row  of  columns. 
This  is  an  architectural  feature  absolutely  lack- 
ing in  the  Inca  and  pre-Inca  ruins  elsewhere, 
for,  except  in  this  case,  the  column  was  appar- 
ently unknown  to  the  Andine  people,  as  was  the 


186  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


arch.  The  columns  of  Incahuasi  are  not  mono- 
liths, however.  The  building  probably  dates 
from  the  fifteenth  century.  Still  farther  to  the 
south,  slightly  inland  from  the  port  of  Pisco, 
we  encounter  an  extensive  group  of  adobe  ruins 
in  a good  state  of  preservation,  consisting  of 
long  walls  with  characteristic  trapezoidal-formed 
doors  and  niches,  and  corridors,  halls,  and  rough 


stone  foundations.  I took  a careful  sketch  of 
these  features.  The  niches  are  still  covered  with 
some  red  pigment,  possibly  vermilion  from  the 
great  quicksilver  mines  of  Huncavelica  (which  I 
visited),  in  the  Andes  to  the  east,  for  vermilion 
was  obtained  from  the  cinnabar  to  paint  the  faces 
of  Inca  beauties,  we  are  told  by  Garcilaso,  the 
Inca  historian. 

Still  farther  south  in  this  coast-zone  of  Peru 


RUINS  OF  CHAN  CHAN,  COAST  OF  PERU. 


PERU 


187 


I encountered  remains  of  long  aqueducts,  a line 
traceable  for  eighty  miles  along  the  hill-slopes, 
for  the  Incas  were  expert  in  hydraulics  and 
irrigation  works.  There  are  other  long  ruined 
aqueducts  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  coast-zone  we  come 
to  the  region  where  the  Chimu  people  flourished, 
who  were  overthrown  by  the  Incas.  They  were 
a powerful,  semi-civilised  coast  people,  and 
numerous  ruins  attest  their  skill  in  mural  con- 
struction. Among  these  the  most  notable  are 
the  ruins  of  Chan-Chan,  whose  walls  show  florid 
decorations,  elaborated  in  cement.1  These  ruins 
are  not  far  from  the  modern  city  of  Trujillo,  and 
would  repay  careful  study.  It  is  interesting  to 
compare  the  decorations  of  these  walls  with  some 
of  the  patterns  on  ancient  Egyptian  costumes, 
and  with  those  on  Persian  carpets,  and  to  en- 
deavour to  trace  a similarity  in  their  form.  Very 
recently  a great  quantity  of  pottery  of  the  pre- 
Inca  period  and  of  the  most  beautiful  workman- 
ship was  unearthed  in  the  Chicama  Valley  in  this 
district,  mentioned  elsewhere,  its  age  being  con- 
jectured at  seven  thousand  years. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Inca  and  pre-Inca  archi- 
tecture differ  much  to  those  who  have  made  a 
study  of  them.  The  first  lack  any  iconographic 
carvings,  such  as  we  have  seen  at  Tiahuanaco 
and  Chavin,  whilst  in  the  latter  we  do  not 
observe  the  polygonal-shaped  wall  stones. 
Monoliths  of  considerable  size  were  common  to 
both;  one  of  those  at  Cuzco  is  27  feet  long, 

1 See  illustration. 


188  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


1 5 feet  wide,  and  1 2 feet  long,  and  there  are 
others  of  almost  equal  size.  The  stones  vary, 
as  to  their  geological  composition  according  to 
the  region  ; some  are  of  granite,  as  at  Cuzco, 
some  of  trachyte,  sandstone,  or  basalt,  whilst 
Others  are  of  a hard,  silicious  limestone.  It  is  to 
be  recollected  that  this  remarkable  stone -shaping 
was  performed  without  the  use  of  iron ; but 
the  Incas  possessed  bronze,  termed  chumpe,  and 
copper  tools,  examples  of  which  are  occasionally 
recovered  in  the  ancient  quarries.  Indeed,  they 
were  skilled  metallurgists  in  copper,  gold,  and 
silver,  as  more  fully  described  in  a subsequent 
chapter.  “ Analysis  of  their  copper  or  bronze 
has  given  93  per  cent,  copper,  6 per  cent,  tin, 
and  1 per  cent,  silica.”  1 These  metals,  it  will  be 
recollected,  are  abundant  in  Peru,  Bolivia,  and 
Chile.  As  regards  stone-shaping,  there  is  a 
curious  legend  among  the  Indians  that  the  Incas 
were  able  to  mould  stones  by  means  of  using 
the  juice  of  some  herb.2 

As  previously  stated,  the  Incas  were  un- 
acquainted with  the  arch,  but  nevertheless  they 
constructed  dome  or  “ beehive  ” roofs,  both  to 
their  tombs,  at  times,  and  to  their  conical  houses, 
whether  of  stone  or  adobe.  They  also  employed 
the  principle  of  corbelling-out  over  openings,  and 
to  form  the  abutments  of  small  bridges.  In 
general  terms  the  principal  characteristic  of  the 
Inca  architecture  is  its  great  solidity.  It  would 
seem  that  the  builders  were  animated  by  religious 

* “ El  Peru  in  1906,”  Lima. 

2 See  my  “ Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 


PERU 


189 


motives  and  by  the  desire  to  bequeath  to  posterity, 
these  chapters  in  stone  of  their  history,  and, 
indeed,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  these  may  be 
expected  to  outlast  any  of  the  modern  structures 
of  America,  whether  the  architectural  work  of 
colonial  Spain — good  and  solid  as  this  is  gener- 
ally— or  whether  the  “ skyscraper  ” system  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  on  the  Northern  Continent.  Solid 
as  these  walls  are,  however,  the  roofs  of  the 
large  buildings  have  perished  long  ago,  as  their 
builders  do  not  appear  to  have  been  able  to 
advance  beyond  sloping  roofs  of  poles  covered 
with  grass  thatch,  or,  at  any  rate,  in  the  absence 
of  anything  else  we  can  only  assume  this  to 
have  been  the  case.  Their  buildings,  with  small 
exception,  are  never  of  more  than  one  story. 
Nor  were  they  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
burnt  brick,  although  their  ceramic  art  was  an 
advanced  one,  as  we  know  from  the  beautiful 
and  abundant  Inca  pottery.  In  the  shape  of 
their  vases  (as  well  as  in  the  form  of  some  of 
their  buildings)  they  showed  a curious  know- 
ledge of  acoustics.  There  were  no  doors  to  the 
houses,  the  openings  being  covered  with  a mat, 
and,  indeed,  there  could  have  been  little  of 
comfort  or  luxury,  in  the  modern  sense,  about 
these  habitations.  The  interiors  of  the  temples 
were  sometimes  covered  with  plates  of  gold,  of 
which  the  Spaniards  secured  great  booty. 

It  is  held  to  be  a mystery  how  the  early  Peru- 
vians embalmed  their  dead.  The  bodies  of  the 
Inca  emperors,  “ according  to  eye-witnesses  and 
the  Spanish  historians,  still  preserved  the  features 


190  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


unaltered,  the  skin  smooth  and  soft,  and  the  flesh 
in  its  entirety  after  the  lapse  of  centuries.”  1 
Mummies  were  sometimes  left  in  a sitting 
posture,  in  caves.  The  burial-places  and  mummy, 
cellars  of  these  people  are  found  all  over  Peru. 
Innumerable  small  square  chambers,  built  of 
rough  stone,  are  generally  the  receptacle  of  the 
mummies,  and  to-day  these  huacas  are  constantly 
discovered,  when  buried,  by  the  method  of 
sounding  the  earth  with  an  iron  rod,  when  the 
lack  of  resistance  encountered  indicates  the 
presence  of  a mummy.  Numbers  of  these  places 
exist,  both  on  the  coast  and  in  the  mountains. 

The  earliest  evidences  of  man  in  Peru  are  in 
kitchen-middens  and  fireplace  stones  on  the 
coast.  At  a much  later  period,  but  whose  date 
it  is  impossible  yet  to  fix,  there  existed  on  the 
coast,  especially  between  Samanco,  in  the  north 
of  Peru,  and  Nasca,  in  the  south,  groups  of  civi- 
lised tribes  of  whom  nothing  is  known,  except 
from  their  ceramic  utensils  and  textile  fabrics, 
found  in  the  deepest  layers  of  the  soil. 

As  to  pottery,  this  is  very  plentiful,  and  of 
beautiful  form.  A remarkable  find  of  beautiful 
pottery  in  great  abundance  recently,  shows  how 
advanced  these  pre-Inca  people  must  have  been 
in  ceramic  art.  The  illustrations  given  here  are 
of  those  unearthed  in  the  Chicama  valley,  near 
Trujillo,  three  or  four  years  ago.2  The  date 
of  this  pottery  was  conjectured  as  a very  remote 
one,  but  that  it  was  of  so  great  an  age  remains 

1 “ El  Peru  en  1906,”  Lima. 

2 By  Mr,  Myrine- 


POTTERY  FROM  PRE-INCA  TOMB,  CHICAMA  VALLEY,  COAST  OF  PERU, 


PERU 


191 


to  be  proved.  “ The  750  examples  of  prehistoric 
pottery  prove  that  there  existed  on  the  western 
slopes  of  the  Andes,  some  seven  thousand  years 
ago,  a civilisation  that  was  of  a much  higher 
type  than  any  that  had  been  thought  possible. 
The  pottery  dates,  it  is  claimed,  from  5000  B.C.  ; 
some  are  inclined  to  date  it  as  far  back  as 
10,000  B.C.”  ; says  one  account.1 

This  pottery  was  taken  from  a tumulus,  some 
three  miles  in  extent,  which  was  found  to  con- 
tain about  two  thousand  graves  of  the  Chimus 
people.  Much  of  it  is  exceedingly  beautiful  and 
curious,  and  its  delicacy  of  colouring,  high  finish, 
and  remarkable  state  of  preservation  are  note- 
worthy. 

As  regards  Peruvian  pottery  in  general,  of 
the  pre-Hispanic  period,  the  pieces  commonly, 
unearthed  from  the  sand  and  tombs  are  veritable 
works  of  art,  and  the  traveller  will  be  unable 
to  resist  the  temptation  to  form  a collection.  'He 
must  beware,  however,  of  the  beginnings  of  a 
spurious  art  in  imitation. 

It  may  have  been  that  the  coast  civilisation 
preceded  that  which  proceeded  from  Tiahuanaco, 
the  main  centre  of  the  pre-Inca  culture,  although 
the  similarity  of  design  on  the  pottery  and  fabrics 
unearthed  at  both  places  shows  that  they  may 
have  been  allied.  This  civilisation,  which  was 
responsible  for  the  pre-Inca  buildings,  must  have 
advanced  as  an  immense  wave  over  the  whole 
of  the  Peru  of  to-day,  reaching  on  the  north 

1 From  a description  in  the  Illustrated  London  News , 
December,  1909. 


192  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


beyond  Ecuador  as  far  as  Columbia  and  on  the 
south  to  Chile,  and  to  the  east  as  far  as  Tucman 
and  the  Gran  Chaco  in  the  Argentine  Republic. 
What  of  its  origin  ? “ As  regards  the  origin  of 

the  tribes  or  people  which  came  to  Peru  and 
inhabited  it,  after  men  whose  traces  we  find  along 
the  coast  in  kitchen-middens,  &c.,  the  greater  part 
of  the  persons  who  have  studied  the  matter  in 
all  its  bearings  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
they  were  of  Asiatic  origin.  We  may  reasonably 
attribute  an  Asiatic  origin  to  the  first  half- 
civilised  people  of  our  soil.  Moreover,  many 
physiognomic  peculiarities  of  the  Indians  betray 
their  Mongolian  origin  and  make  them  similar 
to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese,  to  which  families 
they  perhaps  belong.  In  corroboration  of  this 
supposition  we  have  surprising  similarity  between 
the  adornments  and  artistic  patterns  which  we 
meet  with  in  the  woven  textures  and  pottery-work 
of  the  ancient  Peruvians  and  those  of  the  Mayas, 
who  occupied  the  whole  peninsula  of  Yucatan, 
as  well  as  part  of  Chiapas  and  Tabasco,  to  whom 
the  men  of  science  in  Mexico  attribute  likewise 
Mongolian  origin.”  1 

This  supposition  also  gains  force,  according  to 
the  above  writer,  from  the  analogy  of  some  of 
the  customs  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  with  those 
of  the  Chinese.  Agriculture  was  the  basis  of 
social  administration  both  of  the  Chinese  and 
the  early  Peruvians.  During  the  rule  of  the 
empire  of  the  Incas  great  festivals  were  cele- 
brated, that  of  Hatun  Raini  and  of  Capaccocha, 
1 “ El  Peru  en  1906,”  Lima. 


PERU 


193 


at  the  time  of  the  equinoxes  and  solstices  ; the 
former  to  render  thanks  to  the  Supreme  Being — 
that  is,  the  sun  in  the  Inca  belief — for  benefits 
received,  and  the  latter  to  pray  for  a fruitful 
following  season.  At  one  of  these  festivals  the 
Inca  Emperor  ploughed  with  his  own  hands 
a piece  of  sacred  land,  just  as  during  similar 
festivals  in  China  the  Emperor  ploughs  (or  did 
plough)  consecrated  ground  with  a silver  plough. 

Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  these  analogies 
it  is  evident  that  Peruvians  of  to-day  believe, 
to  a large  extent,  that  their  country  in  early  times 
was  peopled  from  Asia.  There  are  other  evi- 
dences of  very  remote  happenings  in  this  vast 
region  of  the  Pacific  and  the  Andes.  On  the  hills 
near  Tacna  in  Tarapaca,  between  Peru  and  Chile, 
are  “ the  remains  of  hieroglyphics  of  enormous 
dimensions,  perfectly  visible  at  a considerable 
distance,  written  in  vertical  lines,  like  Chinese 
writing.  At  eight  leagues  to  the  north-west  at 
Arequipa  may  be  seen  engraved  upon  granite,  on 
the  heights  of  La  Caldera,  figures  of  men  and 
animals,  straight  and  curved  lines,  parallelograms, 
and  even  certain  kinds  of  crosses  and  letters. 
Time  has  blotted  out  a number  of  inscriptions, 
but  a great  many  are  still  sufficiently  visible. 
The  situation  of  these  hieroglyphics  in  solitary 
spots,  devoid  of  any  ruins  in  their  vicinity,  or 
of  any  tombs  corresponding  to  the  Inca  civilisa- 
tion, proves  that  they  were  carved  previous  to 
the  empire  and  that  they  are  evident  signs  of 
the  existence  of  a very  ancient  civilisation.”  1 
1 “ El  Peru  en  1906,”  Lima. 

13 


194  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


In  the  discussion  upon  a paper  which  I read 
before  one  of  the  learned  associations  of 
London,1  some  of  the  speakers  compared  cer- 
tain similarities  of  ornament  and  construction  in 
the  views  shown  on  the  screen  with  outside 
sources,  such  as  the  “ extraordinary  resemblance 
of  some  of  the  walls  to  those  in  Greece,  as  also 
what  was  known  as  the  Greek  fret,  which,  how- 
ever, existed  in  other  countries  independently.” 
Another  speaker  drew  some  analogy  with  the 
Cyclopean  walls  of  the  prehistoric  cities  of 
Mycenae  and  Tiryns,  and  the  legends  of  the 
Argives  as  to  their  building.  Such  analogies 
were,  however,  doubtless  romantic.2 3 4  It  is,  per- 
haps, worthy  of  mention  in  passing  that  the 
polygonal -shaped  wall  stones  of  the  Inca 
masonry,  as  depicted  at  Cuzco  and  Huanuco 
Viejo,  &c.,  are  seen  in  Japanese  walls .3 

As  to  the  “ Greek  ” pattern,  pictured  else- 
where 4 the  exact  form  of  the  Peruvian  and 
Mexican  design  is  common  as  a decoration 
around  the  pedestals  of  idols  in  some  parts  of 
China  to-day. 5 

In  a subsequent  chapter  Peruvian -Asiatic 
analogies  are  further  advanced  and  discussed, 
with  arguments  both  for  and  against. 

1 Architectural  Association,  November,  1909. 

2 See  Architectural  Association  Journal , January,  1910. 

3 For  an  example  see  Awake , magazine  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  December,  1911,  “Japanese  Temple.” 

4 P.  244. 

s See  illustrations  in  “ Present  Conditions  in  China,” 
National  Geographic  Magazine , Washington,  December  1911. 


PRE-INCA 


pottery  from  TOMB  in  the  chicama  valley 

COAST  OF  PERU. 


To  f ace  p.  iy^. 


CHAPTER  XI 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM 

A remarkable  social  system — The  Inca  land  laws — “ Superior 
to  all  Christian  nations” — Small  holdings  in  early  Peru — 
The  land  for  the  (prehistoric)  people! — No  beggary 
permitted — Common  ownership  of  natural  resources — 
The  guano — Public  water  rights — No  monopolies  allowed 
— Inca  hydraulics — Wonderful  irrigation  system — The 
andenes — Socialistic  agriculture — Neighbourly  assistance 
— No  Tammanyism  ! — Help  for  widows — Tax-payments 
in  goods  and  labour — Boots  instead  of  rates — Hallelujah 
— Public  granaries — Precautions  against  famine — Corn 
reserves — Scientific  colonisation — The  fall  of  the  Inca 
socialism — Hints  for  Britain. 

It  is  a remarkable  thing  that  in  the  remote  fast- 
nesses of  a huge  mountain  system  of  a 
continent  unknown  to  the  civilised  world  of 
Europe  and  Asia  four  hundred  years  ago,  the 
Andes  of  South  America,  a civilisation  of  so 
unique  and  beneficent  a character  should  have 
existed  as  caused  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
the  historians  of  the  Conquest  to  exclaim  that 
“ laws  so  beneficent  have  never  been  enjoyed 
by  any  country  under  any  Christian  monarch, 
or  under  any  kings  whether  of  Asia,  Africa,  or 
Europe.”  1 These  things  are  not  exaggeration  ; 

1 Garcilasso  de  la  Vega. 

195 


196  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


proofs  and  records  of  the  Inca  social  system 
sufficiently  establish  their  truth. 

Before  leaving  Peru,  therefore,  let  us  cast  a 
glance  at  the  land  laws,  system  of  tax  payments, 
disposal  of  national,  natural,  and  Imperial  re- 
sources, colonisation,  fraternity,  and  so  forth,  of 
the  Inca  Empire — matters  not  without  value  for 
consideration  by  the  empires  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

Most  important  of  all,  perhaps,  were  the  land 
laws — those  concerning  land  tenure  and  cultiva- 
tion. The  Inca  emperors,  directly  they  subjected 
a new  territory — and  it  is  to  be  recollected  that 
they  increased  their  possessions  enormously  by 
conquering  the  surrounding  more  or  less  savage 
tribes  of  the  slopes  and  uplands  of  the  Andean 
regions — immediately  instituted  the  equitable 
system  of  land  tenure  of  their  own  homeland. 
The  land  was  first  measured  and  divided  into 
three  sections  : the  first  part  for  the  sun,  the 
second  for  the  king,  and  the  third  for  the  people  1 
— that  is  to  say,  Church,  State,  and  people  each 
received  its  share.  This  system  was  carried  out 
in  every  province  and  village,  care  being  taken 
that  there  should  be  an  excess  rather  than  an 
insufficiency  of  land  for  the  inhabitants  of  each 
and  every  such  district.  When  the  population 
increased  land  was  taken  from  the  areas  belong- 
ing to  the  sun  and  the  king  and  allotted  to  the 
people,  the  sun  and  king  retaining  in  their  share 
such  lands  as  were  desert  or  uncultivable. 

1 See  Garcilasso,  “ Rites  and  Laws  of  the  Incas,”  Hakluyt 
Series,  Markham’s  translation. 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  197 


To  each  married  peasant  was  granted  an  area 
of  land  sufficient  for  his  maintenance,  called  a 
tupu,  which  was  regarded  as  the  unit  of  measure- 
ment. When  children  were  born  a further  area 
was  granted,  in  the  ratio  of  one  tupu  for  each 
boy  and  half  a tupu  for  each  girl.  Upon  the 
boy’s  marriage  the  tupu  was  handed  over  to  him 
but  the  girls,  when  married,  did  not  take  their 
tupu,  which  remained  with  the  father  or  reverted 
to  the  State. 

No  one  was  allowed  to  buy  or  sell  land.  It 
reverted  to  the  State  on  the  death  of  its  owner.1 

Thus,  under  the  Inca  system  the  important 
principle  was  observed  that  every  individual  had 
a right  to  his  or  her  area  of  land  ; that  land 
was  the  property  of  the  community,  and  could 
not  be  privately  monopolised  or  looked  upon  as 
a merchantable  commodity. 

No  less  were  natural  resources  forbidden  to  be 
monopolised,  as  is  well  shown  by  the  laws  for 
the  use  of  the  valuable  land  fertiliser  known  as 
guano , a peculiar  product  of  the  Peruvian  coast, 
and  by  the  State  ownership  of  gold-mines,  &c.2 

This  guano  is  the  product — the  droppings — 
of  the  innumerable  sea-birds  which  haunt  the 
coast  and  islands  of  that  part  of  South  America. 
We  can  observe  them  from  the  deck  of  the 
steamer  to-day,  flying  low  on  the  surface  of  the 
water  in  such  numbers  that  they  appear  like 

1 I venture  to  commend  a consideration  of  this  to  our 
modern  land-monopolists. 

2 This  ancient  matter  of  national  ownership  of  national 
resources  is  one  which  modern  nations  might  well  consider. 


198  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


clouds,  and,  indeed,  must  be  seen  to  be  believed. 
In  the  time  of  the  Incas  it  was  unlawful  to  molest 
these  birds  or  trespass  upon  their  grounds  at 
breeding -time.  The  guano -covered  land  looks 
from  a distance,  as  we  approach  the  islands  or 
promontories  where  it  chiefly  abounds,  like  peaks 
of  snowy  mountains,  and  in  the  coast  regions  it 
was  used  to  fertilise  the  sterile  soils. 

These  guano  deposits  were  carefully  assigned 
to  certain  districts,  and  marked  out  for  the  use 
of  each  village  or  locality,  and  any  person  who 
misappropriated  the  substance  was  punished. 

As  with  the  laws  concerning  land  and  ferti- 
liser, so  it  was  with  those  relating  to  water,  that 
necessary  concomitant  of  agriculture  in  the  torrid 
zone,  where  irrigation  is  necessary  due  to  the 
scanty  rainfall. 

In  those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  avail- 
able supply  of  water  was  limited — and  they  em- 
braced the  vast  region  of  the  coast  zone — the 
flow  of  streams  was  gauged  and  utilised  with 
great  care,  conducted  in  irrigation  conduits  or 
channels,  fashioned  by  Government  engineers, 
and  allotted  to  the  agriculturist  by  measure. 
Experience  had  shown  the  necessary  quantity  of 
water  required  to  irrigate  each  unit  of  land, 
and  a time-flow  was  given  for  each  in  turn, 
“ and  neither  the  rich  nor  the  noble,  nor  the 
friend  nor  the  relation  of  a curaca  [or  petty 
chief],  nor  even  the  Minister  or  Governor  him- 
self, received  any  preference.”  1 Those  who  were 
too  negligent  or  idle  to  take  their  turn  and  irri- 
1 Garcilasso,  “ Royal  Commentaries  of  the  Incas.” 


PRE-INCA  POTTERY  FROM  TOMB  IN  CHICAMA  VALLEY,  COAST  OF  PERU. 


To  face  p.  198. 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  199 


gate  their  land  within  the  given  time  were 
punished. 

The  Inca  hydraulic  works  included  the  build- 
ing of  dams  for  water-storage  ; and  by  works 
of  this  character  they  increased  the  capacity,  in 
some  cases,  of  the  lakes  which  generally  form 
the  source  of  Peruvian  coast  rivers.  They  en- 
larged these  lakes  and  led  aqueducts  therefrom. 
Works  of  the  character  which  I have  examined 
in  the  remote  interior  are  of  much  interest.  In 
some  cases  ravines  were  spanned  by  means  of 
aqueducts,  some  of  which  are  used  by  the  natives 
to-day ; and  in  the  province  of  Nasca  water 
for  irrigation  was  conducted  by  subterranean 
channels. 

The  Incas  were  expert  irrigationists,  and  their 
old  channels  and  hydraulic  works  remain  in  many 
parts  of  Peru.  Some  of  the  canals  formed  for 
this  purpose  were  many  miles  in  length. 

“ The  Inca  emperors  caused  irrigation  channels 
to  be  constructed,  which  were  most  admirable,  as 
may  be  seen  to  this  day,”  Garcilasso  wrote  at  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  “ The  engineers 
led  the  irrigation  channels  in  directions  required 
to  be  watered,  and  they  endeavoured  to  increase 
its  fertility  as  much  as  possible.  The  Incas  sup- 
plied the  water  with  much  ingenuity,  and  no 
maize  crop  was  sown  without  being  also  supplied 
with  water.  They  also  constructed  channels  to 
irrigate  the  pasture-lands  when  the  autumn 
withheld  its  rains,  for  they  took  care  to  fertilise 
the  pastures  as  well  as  the  arable  land,  as  they 
possessed  immense  flocks.  These  channels  were 


200  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


destroyed  as  soon  as  the  Spaniards  came  into 
the  country,  but  the  ruins  may  be  seen  to  this 
day.  In  many  places  they  led  an  irrigation 
channel  for  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues  to  irrigate 
only  a few  fanegas  of  maize-land',  that  it  might 
not  be  lost.” 

The  fanega  is  equal  to  about  one  and  one- 
tenth  acre . The  flocks,  of  course,  were  of 
llamas  and  alpacas. 

I have  spoken  elsewhere  of  the  remarkable 
system  of  terracing  the  mountain  slopes  to  form 
agricultual  land — the  andenes , as  these  terraces 
were  termed  by  the  Spaniards  ; and  it  was  partly 
to  irrigate  these  hanging  fields  that  the  irrigation 
canals  were  formed.  Many  of  the  andenes  be- 
longed to  the  Inca  and  to  the  sun,  because  the 
emperors  had  ordered  their  construction.  Lands 
not  capable  of  irrigation  were  nevertheless  made 
to  yield  good  products,  such  as  potatoes  and 
other  edible  roots,  whilst  the  quinua,  a valu- 
able cereal  of  the  Andean  regions  to-day 
( Chenopodium  quinoa),  a seed  something  like 
rice,  was  planted  with  the  maize  often  in  the 
colder  lands.  In  barren  coast  lands  fish  was 
used  as  a fertiliser,  grains  of  maize  being  planted 
in  holes  with  dead  fishes. 

If  the  methods  of  land  tenure  and  its  fertilising 
were  beneficent  and  reasonable,  no  less  were 
those  connected  with  cultivation  and  harvest. 

“ They  also  established  1 a regular  order  in  the 
tilling  and  cultivating  of  the  land.  They  first 
tilled  the  fields  of  the  sun  ; then  those  of  the 
1 Garcilasso,  ante . 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  201 


widows,  orphans,  aged,  and  sick,  for  all  these 
persons  were  classed  as  poor,  and,  as  such,  the 
Yuca  emperor  ordered  that  their  fields  should 
be  tilled  for  them.  In  each  village,  or  in  each 
ward  if  the  village  was  large,  there  were  men 
deputed  to  look  after  the  lands  of  persons  who 
were  classed  as  poor.  These  ‘ officers  of  the 
village  ’ superintended  the  ploughing,  sowing,  and 
harvesting  ; and  at  such  times  they  went  up  into 
towers  the  night  before,  built  for  the  purpose, 
and,  after  blowing  through  a trumpet  or  shell 
to  secure  attention,  cried  with  a loud  voice  that 
on  such  a day  such  and  such  lands  of  the  poor 
would  be  tilled,  warning  those  whose  duty  it 
might  be  to  repair  thither.  If  the  poor  had 
no  seed  it  was  provided  from  the  Government 
stores.  The  lands  of  soldiers  who  were  em- 
ployed in  the  wars  were  also  tilled  in  this  way, 
like  those  of  widows  and  orphans,  for  wives 
whose  husbands  were  serving  in  the  wars  were 
looked  upon  as  widows  during  their  absence.”  1 
After  the  lands  of  the  poor  and  incapacitated 
had  been  attended  to,  the  people  cultivated  their 
own  holdings  and  rendered  mutual  assistance  to 
each  other  ; and  the  last  to  receive  such  was 
the  curaca.  Was  there  any  favouritism  or 
corruption  shown  in  these  operations,  or 
“graft”  set  up?  “In  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Huayna  Capac  a superintendent  in 
the  province  of  Chachapoyas  was  hanged,  be- 

1 A useful  hint  for  Britain,  whose  soldiers’  families  often 
are  left  in  want,  and  whose  old  soldiers  at  times  perish  in 
destitution  ! 


202  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


cause  he  caused  the  land  of  a curaca,  who  was 
a relation  of  his,  to  be  tilled  before  that  of  a 
poor  widow.”  1 

“ The  Inca  emperors  ordered  that  the  lands 
of  their  subjects  should  take  precedence  of  their 
own,  because  they  said  that  from  the  prosperity 
of  their  subjects  was  derived  their  faithful  service, 
for  if  they  were  poor  and  in  need  they  would  not 
be  able  to  serve  well  either  in  peace  or  war.”  2 

The  last  lands  to  be  cultivated  were  those 
belonging  to  the  Sun,  and  the  tilling  of  these 
was  made  the  opportunity  for  festival  and  re- 
joicing, singing  and  general  contentment.  All 
the  songs  that  were  sung  in  praise  of  the  Sun 
and  the  emperor  were  composed  with  reference 
to  the  meaning  of  the  word  Haylli,  which,  in  the 
general  language  of  Peru,  meant  “ triumph.” 
Thus  they  were  said  to  triumph  over  the  earth 
by  ploughing  it,  so  that  it  might  yield  fruit. 
The  refrain  of  each  couplet  was  the  word1  Haylli, 
repeated  as  often  as  was  necessary,  and  this 
seems  to  have  been  a species  of  “ Hallelujah.” 

Among  the  most  remarkable  laws  of  the  Incas 
were  those  concerning  taxation.  The  principal 
feature  of  these  laws  was  that  taxes  were  not 
paid  in  money,  but  in  work  and  in  produce, 
whether  manufactured  or  grown.  It  was  held 
by  the  Inca  emperors  as  unjust  that  taxes  should 
be  demanded  in  any  form  or  commodity  which 

1 Garcilasso,  ante.  There  might  be  salutary  lessons  for  the 
thriving  American  institution  known  as  “Tammany”  in  these 
matters. 

2 Garcilasso,  ante.  A hint  for  British  statesmen  I 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  203 


the  people  of  any  particular  place  could  not  pro- 
duce by  their  own  personal  labour.1 

“ The  principal  tribute  was  to  sow  the  lands, 
reap  the  crops  of  the  Sun  and  the  emperor,  and 
to  store  them  in  the  granaries,  which  were  kept 
in  each  village.  These  granaries  were  con- 
structed with  great  care.  The  crops  of  the  Sun 
and  those  of  the  emperor  were  shut  up  in  places 
apart.  Throughout  the  empire  there  were  three 
kinds  of  storehouses  in  which  crops  and  other 
tribute  were  shut  up.  In  each  village,  whether 
it  was  large  or  small,  there  were  two  storehouses. 
In  one  was  deposited  the  provision  which  was 
stored  up  for  the  people,  to  guard  against  famine 
in  years  of  scarcity,  and  in  the  other  the  crops 
of  the  emperor  and  the  Sun.”  2 

These  royal  and  religious  deposits,  however, 
were  not  squandered  or  monopolised,  but  were 
held  in  reserve  also,  against  time  of  need,  and 
seed  for  sowing  was  provided  therefrom. 

A noteworthy  system  concerning  the  payment 
of  taxes  in  the  product  of  the  labour  of  the 
individual  was  in  vogue. 

“ The  people  also  paid  another  sort  of  tribute, 
which  was  to  make  clothes,  shoes,  and  arms  for 
the  soldiers  and  the  poor  who  could  not  work 
themselves  owing  to  age  or  infirmity.  In  dis- 
tributing and  ordering  this  second  tribute,  the 
same  rules  were  observed  as  in  all  other  similar 
matters.  The  cloth  in  all  parts  of  the  Sierra 

1 Food  for  thought  for  our  overtaxed  classes  to-day  ! 

2 Garcilasso,  ante.  A useful  hint  for  Great  Britain,  as 
against  starvation  in  war-time  ! 


204  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


was  made  of  wool  from  the  innumerable  flocks. 
On  the  plains  of  the  sea-coast,  where  the  climate 
is  warm  and  they  do  not  dress  in  woollens,  they 
made  cotton  cloths,  the  cotton  being  provided 
from  the  crops  of  the  emperor  and  the  Sun. 
The  shoes  were  made  in  the  provinces  where 
aloes  were  most  abundant,  for  they  were  made 
of  the  leaves  of  a tree  called  maguey.  The  arms 
also  were  supplied  by  the  provinces  where  the 
materials  for  making  them  were  most  abundant. 
In  some  they  made  bows  and  arrows,  in  others 
lances  and  darts,  in  others  clubs  and  axes,  slings 
and  shields.  In  fine,  each  province  furnished 
its  own  produce,  without  seeking  in  any  strange 
land  for  what  it  did  not  yield  itself,  for  no 
province  had  to  supply  anything  that  did  not 
belong  to  it.  Thus  they  paid  their  tribute  with- 
out having  to  leave  their  homes.”  1 

Amid  this  remarkable  social  system  of  the 
Incas  was  the  beneficent  mandate  prohibiting 
beggary  and  destitution ; and  this,  of  course, 
followed  upon  due  provision  in  their  laws. 
Every  citizen  was  considered  to  be  provided 
for,  theoretically  and  practically.  No  man 
need  be  idle,  no  man  need  lack  land,  or  seed, 
or  implements  wherewith  to  cultivate  it  and 
make  a living  for  himself  and  family,  there- 
fore no  one  was  permitted  to  beg.  If  any 
were  found  doing  so  it  was  clear  proof  of 
idleness,  not  of  lack  of  opportunity  or  physical 
incapacity,  for,  as  shown,  the  incapable  were  pro- 
vided for  ; and  severe  contempt  and  punishment 

1 Garcilasso,  ante.  Useful  hints  for  the  British  taxpayer  1 


A PREHISTORIC  SOCIALISM  205 


was  meted  out  upon  all  tramps,  vagabonds,  and 
idlers.” 

Whilst  we  must  extol  the  social  system  of  the 
Incas,  in  as  far  as  it  provided  for  all  its  people 
and  precluded  the  barbarous  conditions  of  in- 
sufficiency and  unemployment  out  of  which 
society  in  the  twentieth  century  is  striving  to 
emancipate  itself,  we  must  recollect  that  it  was 
not  a progressive  system.  The  Quechuas  and 
Inca-ruled  tribes  could  not  advance.  They  were 
but  children  living  under  the  will  of  benevo- 
lent autocrats.  They  could  neither  choose  their 
occupation  nor  even  marry  of  their  own  free  will. 
Such  a system  could  not  have  endured,  and 
whether,  supposing  it  had  not  been  destroyed  by 
the  Spanish  advent,  it  would  have  developed  the 
spirit  of  individualism  of  European  nations,  whilst 
retaining  its  valuable  practices  of  community- 
rights,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  has  been  rather 
unjustly  urged  against  the  Inca  regime  that  it 
fell  easily  before  a handful  of  invaders,  and  this 
has  been  used  as  an  argument  against 
“ socialism.”  But  it  is  to  be  recollected  that 
its  fall  was  largely  due  to  the  kingdom  having 
been  divided  against  itself  at  that  period,  and 
also  the  sudden  effect  of  the  horses  and  guns  of 
the  Spaniards  upon  a people  who  had  never  seen 
such  before  must  be  considered. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  benefits  of 
the  Inca  rule  have  been  revived  under  the  so- 
called  republic  of  modern  Peru.  The  Spaniards 
stamped  out  these  splendid  native  laws  of  the 
aboriginal  people,  and  the  Peruvians  of  to-day 


206  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


are  largely  the  creatures  of  a somewhat  feeble 
copy  of  European  manners,  in  which  land 
monopoly,  and  negligence  and  oppression  of  the 
poor  Indian  are  among  their  worst  defects.  In 
Peru,  as  in  all  other  Spanish-American  com- 
munities, every  petty,  official  is  more  or  less  of 
a tyrant  over  the  aboriginal  race,  who  are 
deprived  of  their  rights. 

As  to  the  land,  it  is  held  in  great  part  after 
the  unrighteous  fashion  of  Europe,  mainly  by 
large  land  monopolists,  except  where  it  is  too 
remote  or  inaccessible,  as  in  the  jungles  or 
mountain  region.  Only  there  the  Inca  system 
has  been  to  some  extent  preserved,  and  the 
native  small-holding  is  inalienable  by  law.  Of 
course,  Peru  is  one  of  those  countries  with 
enormous  areas  of  wild  territory,  much  of  it 
extremely  valuable,  and  any  citizen  (or  alien) 
may  acquire  a holding  therein  from  the  State. 


CHAPTER  XII 


COMPARISONS  AND  CONTRADICTIONS 

From  Asia  to  America  ? — No  iron  or  vehicles — Stone  tools  in 
early  American  arts — Remarkable  stone-shaping  methods 
— Indefatigable  architects  — Massive  work  — General 
characteristics — Moving  the  monoliths — Work  on  the 
high  plateaux — Engineering  knowledge  in  prehistoric 
America — The  Pueblo  ruins — Early  explorers — Age  of 
the  Mexican  and  Peruvian  ruins — No  origin  from  Asia? 
— Cord-holders  in  masonry — Native  gallows — Similarity 
of  ground  plans — Peru  and  Mexico  compared — Columns 
in  early  architecture — The  potter’s  wheel  non-existent — 
Beautiful  textile  work — Native  dyes — Killing  home 
industries — Prehistoric  metallurgy  — Jewel-craft  — Ore- 
smelting  at  Potosi — Admirable  goldsmith’s  work — Abun- 
dance of  gold — Spurious  antiquities — Methods  of  his- 
torical record — Hieroglyphs  and  the  quipos — Analogies 
with  China,  Tibet,  and  Tahiti. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  germs  of  civilisation  and 
the  arts  were  brought  into  America  from  Asia, 
it  is  certainly  remarkable  that  such  pre-historic 
immigration  should  have  left  behind  some  of  the 
prime  adjuncts  of  man’s  life  and  handicraft. 
The  early  Americans,  as  far  as  known  at 
present,  used  no  iron  tools,  notwithstanding 
that  iron  abounds  in  America ; they  had  no 
wheat,  they  used  no  wheeled  vehicles,  nor, 
indeed,  employed  the  wheel  in  any  form, 
except  in  one  instance  as  a spindle  in  weaving, 

207 


208  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


— although,  of  course,  the  absence  of  any  beast 
of  draught  or  burden — horse,  ass,  ox— would  have 
rendered  vehicles  useless.  Moreover,  clever 
builders  as  they  were,  they  did  not  know  of  the 
arch — that  indispensable  feature  of  scientific 
building. 

Stone  was  quarried  by  the  constructive  people 
of  early  America  by  means  of  crowbars  and 
picks  of  wood  and  bone.  The  silicious  rocks 
were  split  with  stone  hammers,  and  broken  and 
chipped  into  shape  with  bone  tools.  In  the  case 
of  finished  and  polished  stonework  the  material 
was  chipped  by  blows,  and  ground  smooth  with 
other  stones,  and  polished  with  fine  material. 
Stones  were  sawed  by  the  agency  of  sand  or 
with  a thin  piece  of  harder  stone,  and  boring 
or  drilling  was  effected  with  the  sand-drill. 
Even  the  hardest  rocks  were  undoubtedly  pierced 
with  specially  hard  sand,  and  the  patience 
expended  on  these  operations  is  evident,  and  we 
see  that  stones  were  sawed,  shaped,  polished, 
carved,  and  perforated  in  any  desired  form. 
For  building  purposes  stones  were  got  out  from 
the  quarries,  dressed,  carved,  and  sculptured  with 
stone  hammers  and  chisels  made  of  hard  and 
tenacious  rock.  These  implements  are  found  still 
in  the  debris  of  quarries.  Stone-cutter’s  tools  of 
metal,  as  far  as  is  known,  did  not  exist,  though, 
without  them  could  they  produce  the  results 
attained  ? Even  mining  was  done  apparently 
without,  and  I have  recovered  stone  hammers 
and  deer’s  horns  from  abandoned  mines  where 
they  had  been  used  in  excavation. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  209 


We  shall  be  forced  to  reflect  upon  the  vast 
amount  of  time  and  patience  which  the  early 
American  of  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru 
must  have  employed  in  their  stone-working. 
Companion  stones  in  walls  are  not  cubes  in  the 
Inca  buildings,  but  of  slightly  polygonal  form, 
involving  the  added  labour  of  fitting  to  their 
fellows  in  the  wall,  as  before  described.  More- 


£leraiton 


Plan 

ONE  OP  THE  DOORWAYS  TO  THE  INCA  PALACE, 
INCA  RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO. 
(Measurements  in  Metres.) 


over,  they  are  of  a size  generally  such  as  must 
have  taken  several  men  to  handle,  and  must 
have  been  fitted  by  constant  placing  and  re- 
placing. The  fine  surfaces  of  the  stones  in  the 
walls  of  such  buildings  as  Huanuco  Viejo,  and 
others  which  I examined,  might  have  been  made 
with  the  most  modern  of  tools. 

Extreme  massiveness  marks  the  stone  con- 

14 


208  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


— although,  of  course,  the  absence  of  any  beast 
of  draught  or  burden — horse,  ass,  ox— would  have 
rendered  vehicles  useless.  Moreover,  clever 
builders  as  they  were,  they  did  not  know  of  the 
arch — that  indispensable  feature  of  scientific 
building. 

Stone  was  quarried  by  the  constructive  people 
of  early  America  by  means  of  crowbars  and 
picks  of  wood  and  bone.  The  silicious  rocks 
were  split  with  stone  hammers,  and  broken  and 
chipped  into  shape  with  bone  tools.  In  the  case 
of  finished  and  polished  stonework  the  material 
was  chipped  by  blows,  and  ground  smooth  with 
other  stones,  and  polished  with  fine  material. 
Stones  were  sawed  by  the  agency  of  sand  or 
with  a thin  piece  of  harder  stone,  and  boring 
or  drilling  was  effected  with  the  sand-drill. 
Even  the  hardest  rocks  were  undoubtedly  pierced 
with  specially  hard  sand,  and  the  patience 
expended  on  these  operations  is  evident,  and  we 
see  that  stones  were  sawed,  shaped,  polished, 
carved,  and  perforated  in  any  desired  form. 
For  building  purposes  stones  were  got  out  from 
the  quarries,  dressed,  carved,  and  sculptured  with 
stone  hammers  and  chisels  made  of  hard  and 
tenacious  rock.  These  implements  are  found  still 
in  the  debris  of  quarries.  Stone-cutter’s  tools  of 
metal,  as  far  as  is  known,  did  not  exist,  though, 
without  them  could  they  produce  the  results 
attained  ? Even  mining  was  done  apparently 
without,  and  I have  recovered  stone  hammers 
and  deer’s  horns  from  abandoned  mines  where 
they  had  been  used  in  excavation. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  209 


We  shall  be  forced  to  reflect  upon  the  vast 
amount  of  time  and  patience  which  the  early 
American  of  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru 
must  have  employed  in  their  stone-working. 
Companion  stones  in  walls  are  not  cubes  in  the 
Inca  buildings,  but  of  slightly  polygonal  form, 
involving  the  added  labour  of  fitting  to  their 
fellows  in  the  wall,  as  before  described.  More- 


Elcration 


Plan 

ONE  OP  THE  DOORWATS  TO  THE  INCA  PALACE. 

INCA  RUINS  OF  HUANUCO  VIEJO. 

(Measurements  in  Metres.) 

over,  they  are  of  a size  generally  su,ch  as  must 
have  taken  several  men  to  handle,  and  must 
have  been  fitted  by  constant  placing  and  re- 
placing. The  fine  surfaces  of  the  stones  in  the 
walls  of  such  buildings  as  Huanuco  Viejo,  and 
others  which  I examined,  might  have  been  made 
with  the  most  modern  of  tools. 

Extreme  massiveness  marks  the  stone  con- 

14 


210  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


struction  of  early  Mexican  and  Peruvian  build- 
ings, especially  in  the  Andine  region,  and  the 
walls  occupied  a space  out  of  all  proportion  to 
the  rooms.  “ At  Uxmal  in  Yucatan  it  is  about 
forty  to  one.”  Of  course  their  builders,  or  at  least 
in  Peru,  took  into  account  the  frequent  and  severe 
earthquake  shocks,  and  to  their  credit  it  is  that 
earthquakes  innumerable  throughout  the  cen- 
turies have  not  destroyed  their  erections.  The 
same  cannot  be  said  for  modern  buildings  in 
Spanish -America,  although  the  edifices  of  the 
colonial  Spanish  period  are  extremely  strong  and 
durable.  The  modern  builder  in  America  takes 
no  account  of  earthquakes  ; the  ancient  was  far 
wiser.  Shocks  are  of  constant  occurrence  in  the 
regions  facing  upon  the  Pacific,  and  during  a 
stay  of  several  months  in  one  part  of  the  South 
American  Cordillera,  slightly  to  the  south  of  the 
Titicaca  region,  I recorded  shocks  on  an  average 
of  two  a week,  some  of  them  sufficient  to  have 
cracked  ordinary  buildings.  In  the  region  occu- 
pied by  the  Inca  Empire  buildings  are  rarely 
of  more  than  one  story,  and  no  doubt  this  was 
connected  with  danger  from  earthquakes. 

The  best  remaining  example  of  the  stone- 
building art  of  the  early  American  race  is  gener- 
ally considered  to  be  the  Maya  architectural 
structures  ; and  the  palace  at  Uxmal  and  the 
castillo  at  Chichen  Itza,  which  have  been 
described,  indicate  a mastery  in  architectural 
design  on  the  part  of  their  builders.  Neverthe- 
less, they  have  faults.  There  is  a lack  of  unity 
in  the  plan  and  grouping,  and  an  enortnous  dis- 


RUINS  OF  MITLA,  SOUTHERN  MEXICO. 


To  face  p.  210. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  211 


proportion  between  the  available  space  and  the 
material  of  the  walls  which  enclose  it.  In  Peru 
perhaps  one  of  the  most  praiseworthy  examples 
of  the  stonemason’s  art  is  the  Temple  of  the  Sun 
at  Cuzco,  with  the  circular  form  of  its  walls, 
which  curve  inward  and  upward  and  are  most 
imposing.  This  part  of  the  temple  still  remains. 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  the  architectural 
Mexicans,  Central  Americans,  and  especially  the 
Peruvians,  had  no  derricks  or  other  apparatus 
for  hoisting . Probably  they  rolled  the  great  stones 
into  place  along  prepared  ways  and  up  inclined 
planes  of  earth,  which  were  afterwards  removed. 
In  building  the  famous  fortress  of  Sacsaihuaman 
at  Cuzco,  considerable  heights  had  to  be 
ascended,  and  at  Tiahuanaco  stones  weighing,  it 
is  stated,  four  hundred  tons  were  carried  seven- 
teen miles.  In  the  fortress  of  Ollantaytambo 
large  stones  were  hauled  up  a great  ascent  and 
were  fitted  perfectly.  The  moving  of  such  great 
objects  by  such  simple  processes  shows  what  could 
be  done  by  great  numbers  of  men  enlisted  in  a 
single  effort,  and  how  high  an  organisation  it 
must  have  been  which  could  hold  them  together 
and  feed  them.  In  this  connection  it  is  to  be 
recollected  that  on  the  Peruvian  uplands,  where 
these  great  ruins  exist,  timber  does  not  grow 
— there  is  not  a tree  of  any  dimensions  within 
vast  distances — nor  will  maize  ripen  there.  On 
my  journeys  in  those  regions  the  feeding  problem 
often  was  acute.1  What  must  it  have  been  for 

1 See  my  book  “ The  Ancles  and  the  Amazon  ” (fourth 
edition). 


212  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  huge  armies  of  workmen  who,  over  long 
periods,  must  have  been  engaged  in  building 
these  great  structures  ? 

In  engineering  science  the  early  American  had 
considerable  hydraulic  knowledge,  as  borne  out 
by  the  reservoirs  and  aqueducts  of  Arizona, 
Mexico,  and  Peru,  which  show  that  hydrotechny 
was  understood.  Frequent  reference  has  been 
made  in  these  pages  to  these  hydraulic  works. 
Terrace-building  and  culture  were  practised  on 
the  Pacific  slope  in  many  points,  from  Arizona 
to  Mexico  and  Peru,  as  already  described.  The 
capabilities  of  the  early  American  builders  have 
been  fully  recognised.  “ As  cultivators  and 
engineers  the  early  Peruvians  excelled  their 
European  conquerors,”  a recent  authority  1 says. 

The  age  of  these  early  American  buildings 
has  already  been  discussed,  but  the  views  of  a 
well-known  Americanist  2 should  have  a place 
here.  “ When  we  turn  to  the  monumental  data, 
to  the  architectural  and  structural  relics  of  the 
ancient  Americans,  we  naturally  think  first  of 
the  imposing  stone-built  fortresses  of  Peru,  the 
massive  pyramids  and  temples  of  Yucatan  and 
Mexico,  and  the  vast  brick  piles  of  the  Pueblo. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  of  these  notable  monuments 
supply  pre-historic  dates  of  excessive  antiquity. 
The  pueblos,  both  those  now  occupied  and  the 
vastly  greater  number  whose  ruins  lie  scattered 
over  the  valleys  and  mesas  of  new  Mexico,  were 
constructed  by  the  ancestors  of  the  tribes  who 

1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Peru.” 

2 Brinton,  “ Essays  of  an  Americanist,”  Philadelphia,  1890. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  213 


still  inhabit  that  region,  and  this  at  no  distant 
day  within  the  period  and  the  commencement 
of  our  era.  There  is  every  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  same  is  true  of  all  the  stone  and  brick 
edifices  of  Mexico  and  Central  America.  The 
majority  of  them  were  occupied  at  the  period 
of  the  Conquest,  others  were  in  process  of 
building,  and  of  others  the  record  of  the  date 
of  their  construction  was  clearly  in  memory  and 
not  distant.” 

In  common  with  some  other  writers,  this 
author  questions  the  very  remote  antiquity  of 
these  buildings,  these  once  famous  cities,  which 
have  fallen  to  ruin  and  are  sunk  into  oblivion 
in  the  midst  of  dense  tropical  forests,  such  as 
that  of  Palenque  and  others  in  Yucatan,  and  takes 
issue  with  the  earliest  explorers,  including  the 
Friar  Lorenzo  de  Bienvenida,  who  wrote  about 
then  from  Yucatan  to  Carlos  V.  in  1548 — and 
who  even  then  had  found  lofty  stone  pyramids, 
mounds,  and  temples  covered  with  a forest 
growth  as  old  as  the  forest  around  them.  Of 
course,  as  already  discussed,  the  opinion  of  most 
competent  observers  is  that  these  structures  date 
from  some  five  centuries  before  the  Spanish 
advent,  but  that  they  were  preceded  by  earlier 
cultures. 

As  to  the  ancient  Peruvian  structures, 
especially  that  of  Tiahuanako,  the  same  writer 
considers  that  even  the  oldest  of  these  are  “ not 
older  than  the  mediaeval  period  of  European 
history  ” ; whilst  another  writer,  of  Spanish 
origin,  says,  on  the  contrary,  that  “ even  the 


214  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


memory  of  their  builders  was  lost  thousands  of 
years  before  the  discovery  of  America  ” 1 
— opinions  which,  therefore,  differ  widely.  As 
regards  these  latter  structures,  more  study  has 
been  given  to  them  since  those  writers  discussed 
them,  and  as  has  been  shown,  the  ruins  of  the 
Andine  peoples  are  resolvable  into  more  than 
one  epoch,  the  age  of  some  being  measured  only 
by  centuries,  the  others  possibly  by  thousands 
of  years,  whilst  the  Mexican  structures  are  also 
of  varying  epochs.  Further,  it  is  perhaps  not 
unnatural  for  an  American  writer  to  seek  to 
establish  an  autochthonous  origin  for  the  early 
civilisations  of  America.  Even  to  the  scientific 
mind  some  sense  of  patriotic  pride  might,  almost 
unconsciously,  tinge  opinion.  He  adds  : “ In- 
deed, summing  up  the  reply  to  an  inquiry  which 
has  often  been  addressed  as  to  the  industrial 
evolution  of  the  indigenes  of  our  continent,  I 
should  say  that  they  did  not  borrow  a single  art 
or  invention,  nor  a single  cultivated  plant  from 
any  part  of  the  Old  World  previous  to  the  arrival 
of  Columbus.  What  they  had  was  their  own, 
developed  from  their  own  soil,  the  outgrowth  of 
their  own  lives  and  needs.”  There  is,  however, 
the  same  spirit  displayed  here  as  that  commented 
upon  before,  in  which  it  seems  that  some 
American  students  do  not  wish  to  acknowledge 
the  “ open  door  ” to  an  outside  influence,  which 
more  far-seeing  writers  have  maintained.2 

An  important  part  of  the  problem  concerning 

1 “ General  Bartolome  Mitre,”  1879,  Buenos  Ayres. 

2 See  p.  37. 


RUINS  OF  CHICHRN  ITZA,  YUCATAN.  ALTAR  SUPPORTS. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  215 


the  early  American  cultures  is  of  course  that 
of  establishing  the  relationship  between  North 
and  South  America — that  is,  between  the  art  of 
the  Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians — and  much  work 
upon  this  point  remains  to  be  done. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  communication 
between  Mexico  and  Peru  in  pre-historic  times. 
There  was  probably  none  by  sea,  whatever  the 
land  communication  may  have  been.  Neither 
Aztecs  nor  Incas  were  navigators  ; they  had  no 
use  for  the  sea  except  for  fishing.  It  is  true 
that  the  early  Peruvians  built  large  balsas,  or 
rafts  with  sails,  and  it  was  a craft  of  this  nature 
that  Pizarro  and  his  men  encountered  off  the 
coast  on  their  voyage,  and  from  whose  crew  they 
first  learned  of  the  Inca  Empire.  Also  the 
fishermen  of  the  Chilean  coast  were  extremely 
dexterous  with  their  catamarans  of  inflated  seal- 
skins, upon  which  they  darted  over  the  rollers. 
Even  to-day  the  Chilean  boatmen  are  the  most 
expert  on  the  coast,  but  it  is  to  be  recollected 
that  the  early  Chileans  did  not  belong  to  the 
Inca  Empire  ; on  the  contrary,  the  Arucanians, 
the  hardy  fighters  of  Chile,  opposed  the  Inca 
advance  to  the  south.  But  nothing  in  the  form 
of  a sea-going  vessel  had  been  evolved  all  along 
this  ten  thousand  miles  of  coast,  beyond  these 
primitive  canoes,  from  the  Eskimos  to  Pata- 
gonia, as  far  as  is  known. 

What  communication  there  was  must  have  been 
by  land,  and  of  course  the  famous  Inca  roads 
covered  more  than  a thousand  miles,  and  might 
conceivably  have  occasioned  some  contact  be- 


216  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


tween  the  Inca  and  Maya-Aztec  influences,  as 
mentioned  elsewhere. 

Whilst  there  are  wide  differences  in  early 
Peruvian  and  Mexican  structures,  there  is  analogy 
on  some  points,  and  as  regards  matters  of 
decorative  art  and  social  customs  in  some  cases 
there  is  exact  similarity  between  them.  Some 
points  worthy  of  note  have  been  touched  upon, 
such  as  the  long  galleries — on  plan— of  the  Mayas 
and  the  Incas,  whilst  the  community-houses  of 
the  Cliff  Dwellers  and  Pueblos  seem  reminiscent 
of  those  of  Huanuco  Viejo  and  others  in  jPeru. 
As  to  the  round  towers  and  square  towers  of  the 
Pueblo  region  of  Arizona,  &c.,  they  appear  to 
be  similar  to  those  of  the  Peruvian  highlands. 
But  in  Peru  we  never  or  rarely  find  the  riotous 
and  beautiful  sculpture  of  the  Mayas  of  Central 
America,  except  that  the  pre-Inca  monoliths  are 
carved  ; nor  in  Central  America  and  Mexico  do 
we  observe  the  same  character  of  polygonal- 
shaped wall  stones,  such  as  are  so  marked  a 
feature  of  Inca  walls.  Furthermore,  we  do  not 
encounter  the  pyramid-temple  in  Peru.  The  use 
of  round  stone  columns  occurs  in  both  archi- 
tectural regions  ; such  as  the  monolithic  columns 
of  Mitla  and  the  serpent  columns  of  Central 
America,  whilst  in  Peru  the  sole  example 
apparently  is  that  of  Incahuassi,  on  the  coast. 
These  last,  however,  are  not  monoliths. 

A minor  detail  occurring  in  stonework  in  both 
continents,  to  which  I am  not  aware  that  attention 
has  been  drawn  before,  is  that  of  cord-holes  in 
masonry,  here  illustrated.  Fig.  i shows  a 


I. 


II 


218  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


kind  of  “ dumb  sheave  ” from  Palenque  in 
Chiapas,  usually  found  on  the  inside  of  doorways 
a foot  or  two  back  from  the  jamb,  and  distributed 
in  rows  from  lintel  level  to  floor.1  Fig.  2 is 
from  the  back  of  a serpent-column  at  Chichen 
Itza  in  Yucatan,2  and  in  Fig.  3 the  same  kind  of 
cord-holder  occurs  in  corners  and  mouldings. 3 
Fig.  4 is  a similar  device  from  Copan  in  Hon- 
duras^ whilst  Fig.  5 is  from  Huanuco  Viejo  in 
Peru.s 

Whilst  these  holes  were  undoubtedly  in  all 
cases  for  the  same  purpose,  that  of  cord-holders 
for  curtains — and  the  similarity  between  those  of 
Central  America  and  Peru,  more  than  2,500  miles 
apart,  is  striking — there  is  a legend  to  the  effect 
that  the  holes  at  Huanuco  Viejo  served  the  pur- 
pose of  gallows.  The  natives  of  the  region 
informed  me  that  in  the  time  of  the  Incas  a 
cord  was  passed  through  the  hole  and  round  the 
neck  of  the  person  to  be  executed,  one  side  being 
for  men,  the  other  for  women  offenders,  and 
that  a loose  stone  block  upon  which  they  were 
caused  to  stand  being  removed,  they  remained 
suspended  and  were  strangled. 

As  regards  ceramic  art,  similarity  in  some 
points  of  design  between  Mexico  and  Peru,  and 
even  Arizona,  exists  : the  same  wedge  patterns, 
wave  patterns,  “ Greek  ” patterns,  &c.,  constantly 
occurring  between  these  various  regions  of 

1 “Ancient  Cities  of  Mexico,”  Holmes.  2 Ibid. 

3 Ibid.  4 “ Biologia  Centralia  Americana,”  Maudslay. 

s My  own  sketches  in  Peru  ; see  “ The  Andes  and  the 
Amazon.” 


PRE-INCA  POTTERY  FROM  TOMB,  CHICAMA  VALLEY,  COAST  OF  PERU. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  219 


Mexico  and  Peru.1  But  there  was  no  potter’s 
wheel  in  the  Western  world,  although  it  was 
almost  invented.  Patience,  time  and  muscle, 
knack  and  touch,  a trained  eye  and  expert  brain, 
and  patterns  fashioned  from  memory,  or  anew, 
or  possibly  inheritances  of  former  art,  aided  by 
a box  of  dry  sand,  were  able  to  give  the  charming 
results  which  they  attained.  The  pottery  of  the 
Incas  and  pre-Incas  especially  shows  the  power 
of  care  and  devoted  craftsmanship.  Nothing  can 
exceed  the  beauty  and  originality,  in  their  special 
fields,  of  the  examples  of  earthen  vessels  dug 
up  from  the  Peruvian  huacas,  illustrations,  of 
some  of  which  are  given  in  this  book.  Soap- 
stone,  when  used  as  it  was  for  pottery,  was 
partly  cut  into  the  desired  shape  in  the  native 
ledge,  broken  or  prised  loose  and  afterwards 
scraped  into  form  ; and  paint  was  excavated  from 
mines  and  deposits,  and  rubbed  fine  on  stones 
with  water  and  grease. 

Both  among  the  early  Mexicans  and  Peruvians 
wall-painting  was  an  art.  Some  of  the  walls 
I examined  in  Peru  were  coloured  with  ver- 
milion, doubtless  from  the  cinnabar  or  quick- 
silver deposits  which  occur  in  that  country.  The 
women  of  the  Incas,  it  is  recorded,  used  ver- 
milion to  paint  their  faces  on  Certain  occasions. 

As  regards  art  in  weaving  in  early  America, 
Indian  textile  work  was  done  entirely  by  hand  ; 
the  only  devices  known  were  the  bark  peeler 
and  beater,  the  shredder,  the  flint  knife,  the 
spindle,  the  rope  twister,  the  bodkin,  the  warp 

1 See  p.  245. 


220  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


beam,  and  the  most  primitive  harness.  Beautiful 
and  soft  dye-colours  were  attained.  The  textile 
arts  were  employed  in  clothing,  furniture, 
utensils,  and  a hundred  ways — dom'estic,  social, 
and  religious.  On  the  Pacific  coast  of  America 
basketry  in  every  form  of  technique  was  known. 
In  Northern  Mexico  network,  rude  lacework 
in  twine,  was  improved  upon  by  the  people 
farther  south,  where  finer  materials  were  avail- 
able. By  “ figured  weaving  of  most  intricate 
type  and  pattern,  warps  were  crossed  and 
wrapped,  wefts  w>ere  omitted  and  texture 
changed,  so  as  to  produce  marvellous  effects 
upon  the  surface.  This  composite  art  reached 
its  climax  in  Peru,  the  llama  wool  affording  the 
finest  staple  on  the  whole  hemisphere.”  1 The 
making  of  the  “ Panama  ” hat  was  and  is  a 
famous  industry,  carried  out  in  exceptional  con- 
ditions. The  woven  poncho  was  a universal 
native  garment  which  the  Spaniards  adopted,  and 
it  is  similar  in  form  both  in  Mexico  and  Peru. 

Indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  exceed  the 
beauty  and  utility  of  the  textile  fabrics  and 
weaving  of  the  early  Peruvians,  which  to  some 
extent  prevail  still,  and  we  are  again  caused  to 
reflect  upon  the  great  care,  ingenuity,  and 
patience  which  the  Indian  displays  in  his  handi- 
crafts, which  in  some  instances  are  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  machine-made  goods  of  modern 
commerce.  There  is  a note  of  sadness  in  the 
passing  of  the  home  crafts  and  industries  of  a 
primitive  people,  or,  indeed,  of  any  people.  The 


1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ America.” 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  221 


Quechuas  and  Aymaras  of  the  Andine  uplands 
still  grow  their  wool  and  weave  their  own  gar- 
ments, but  they  are  beginning  to  prefer  the 
gaudy  colours  of  the  aniline  dyes  of  German 
manufacture  rather  than  the  soft  shades  their 
forefathers  made  at  home,  and  doubtless  the  time 
is  at  hand  when  the  excellent  and  durable 
“ tweeds  ” and  homespuns  which  they  make  for 
poncho  or  skirt  will  be  replaced  by  cheap 
material  imported  from  abroad  by  the  efforts  of 
industrious  bagmen  and  “ drummers,”  a thin 
stream  of  whom  is  already  percolating  into  the 
Peruvian  and  Bolivian  interior,  and  who  in  due 
time  will  perform  for  the  Cholo  of  the  Andes  the 
same  “ service  ” that  Lancashire  has  performed 
for  India,  of  vulgarising  or  ruining  the  old  handi- 
craft of  the  natives.  The  same  thing  may  be 
said  for  Mexico  and  Spanish  America  generally. 
One  striking  instance  is  the  substitution  of  the 
picturesque  olla  or  earthen  vessel  for  water- 
carrying by  the  women  of  Mexico  by  the  empty 
petroleum-can  of  the  foreign  oil  trusts  ! 

As  before  remarked,  the  mechanical  powers  of 
the  early  Americans  were  handicapped  by  their 
lack  of  knowledge  of  the  use  of  iron,  and,  indeed, 
it  has  been  asked,  if  their  culture  came  from 
Asia,  how  was  it  they  had  no  knowledge  of  this  ? 
Primitive  metallurgy  was  practised  in  Mexico, 
Columbia,  and  Peru,  but  no  evidence  of  smelt- 
ing ores  with  fluxes  is  offered,  although  casting 
from  metal  melted  in  open  fires  is  assumed. 
Gold,  silver,  copper,  pure  or  mixed  with  tin  or 
silver,  are  to  be  found  in  both  continents.  Metals 


222  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


were  cold-hammered  into  plates,  or  sometimes 
treated  as  malleable  stones,  and  soldering, 
brazing,  and  the  blow-pipe  in  the  Cordillera 
provinces  are  suspected,  but  their  use  requires 
further  evidence.  Ores,  however,  were  smelted 
by  the  aid  of  natural  draught,  as  mentioned  later. 
At  Chiriqui,  in  Panama,  there  were  remarkable 
products  of  ancient  metallurgy,  which  tax  the 
imagination  as  to  the  process  involved,  especi- 
ally as  these  ancient  metal-workers  disguised 
their  methods  at  times.  The  fact  remains,  how- 
ever, “ that  the  curious  metal -craft  of  the  narrow 
strip  along  the  Pacific  from  Mexico  to  Titicaca 
is  the  greatest  of  archaeological  enigmas.” 
Metal-working  appliances  must  have  been  of  the 
rudest  kind,  and  if  moulds  for  casting  were  used, 
they  must  have  been  destroyed,  for  no  museum 
contains  samples  of  them,  and  the  processes  are 
not  discoverable.  To  the  work  of  these  cunning 
pre -historic  artificers  a great  deal  of  study  has 
been  devoted,  surprising  productions  of  whose 
handiwork  have  been  recovered  in  the  art  pro- 
vinces of  Mexico  and  the  Cordilleras,  especially 
Chiriqui.  It  is  the  case,  however,  that  both  the 
tools  and  the  methods  have  escaped  the  investi- 
gations of  the  archaeologist,  as  they  did  the  ablest 
goldsmiths  in  Spain,  “ for,”  as  Herrera  said, 
“ they  never  could  conceive  how  they  had  been 
made,  there  being  no  sign  of  a hammer  or  any 
engraver  or  any  other  instrument  used  by  them, 
the  Indians  having  none  such.” 

Indeed,  the  traveller  to-day,  especially  in  Peru, 
will  regard  with  much  interest  and  speculation 


SCULPTURED  TIGER  AND  HEAD.  EXAMPLES  OF  NAHUA  OR  AZTEC  ART. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  223 


the  objects  of  copper  and  gold  which  have  been 
and  often  still  are  recovered  from  the  huacas 
or  burial-places.  The  small,  heavy  images  of 
copper  which  one  may  examine  in  Peru  could 
scarcely  have  been  made  except  by  casting  in 
a mould.  Beautiful  and  intricate  vessels  and 
ornaments  of  gold  were  a feature  of  Inca 
art.  In  Western  Mexico  I observed  the  native 
art  of  beating  out  large  copper  vessels  as 
much  as  three  or  more  feet  in  diameter,  and 
dealings  in  copper  matte,  a crude  smelted 
ore,  are  practised  as  “ home  industries  ” on  the 
Pacific  slope  at  Mexico,  and  this,  whilst  it  may 
have  borrowed  something  from  modern  methods, 
must  have  had  some  foundation  in  pre-Columbian 
art. 

In  connection  with  early  metallurgy  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  what  has  been  said  concerning 
smelting,  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  at  Potosi 
— now  part  of  Bolivia— the  Indians  not  only 
smelted  the  argentiferous  galena,  or  silver-lead 
ores,  which  abound  there,  and  made  Potosi  a 
by-word  for  mining  wealth,  but  actually  showed 
the  Spaniards,  in  early  days,  how  they  used  the 
natural  force  of  the  wind  for  smelting.  “ They 
built  little  adobe  furnaces,  called  guayras,  and 
deposited  therein  the  ore,  sufficiently  wetted  and 
incorporated  with  others  that  facilitated  their 
smelting  and  filled  them  up  with  fuel,  when  the 
whole  began  to  burn  by  means  of  the  natural 
blowing  of  the  wind,  which  gave  a better  result 
than  the  artificial  draught  of  a bellows  such  as 
the  Spaniards  used.  This  method  of  smelting 


224  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


was  continued  at  night,  and  upon  the  heights  of 
Potosi  the  lights  of  more  than  fifteen  thousand 
little  furnaces  were  seen.”  The  word  guayra  is 
Quechua  for  wind. 

The  above  account  is  from  an  early  Spanish 
chronicler:  Pinelo.  Indeed,  the  skill  of  the  artifi- 
cers of  ancient  Peru  in  the  precious  metals  is 
well  known.  “ The  metal  was  smelted  in  small 
furnaces,  the  fires  of  which  were  blown  by  means 
of  small  pipes,  at  one  end  of  which  the  air 
emerged  through  a small  hole ; it  was  then 
emptied  into  moulds  and  spread  out  in  thin 
streaks  imitating  the  filaments  of  maize  or  small 
flowers,  the  soldering  being  performed  without 
leaving  the  slightest  traces  of  the  junctures.  With 
gold,  silver,  and  copper  plates  they  adorned  the 
effigies  of  men  and  pottery  of  all  kinds,  which 
have  caused  the  admiration  of  all  who  have  seen 
them.  Cloths  of  vicuna  wool,  which  were  inter- 
woven with  gold  and  silver  filaments,  have  come 
down  to  us  to-day  in  all  their  primitive  freshness. 
Among  other  wonders  of  Inca  industry,  admira- 
tion is  evoked  by  the  mysterious  manner  in  which, 
by  merit  of  skill  and  constancy,  they  burnished 
emeralds,  amethysts,  and  other  stones  of  equal 
hardness.”  1 This  weaving  with  gold  threads  is 
suggestive  of  early  Syrian  or  Arabic  work — an 
art  which  passed  in  remote  times  from  Babylon 
to  other  cities,  and  which  is  first  mentioned  as 
employed  in  the  ephod  of  Aaron.2 

1 “ El  Peru  en  1906/’  Lima. 

2 Exod.  xxxix.  See  Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Gold  and  Silver 
Thread.” 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  225 


The  Spanish  accounts  of  the  goldsmith’s  art 
of  the  Incas  is  very  full,  and  the  objects  of 
art  in  gold  which  the  traveller  may  observe 
which  exist  to-day  in  Peru  will  remove  any  sus- 
picion that  those  accounts  are  fables,  although 
they  may  have  been  overdrawn  at  times.  It 
is  to  be  recollected  that  the  Incas  set  little  store 
by  the  value  of  gold,  which  they  did  not  use  as 
currency,  but  simply  for  purposes  of  decoration, 
and  the  profuse  images  of  gold — men,  animals, 
trees,  fruits — at  the  temple  of  Cuzco,  before  the 
Conquest,  and,  indeed,  during  it,  are  one  of  the 
wonders  in  the  history  of  the  yellow  metal. 

The  products  and  remains  of  indigenous 
industries  must  be  divided  carefully  into  several 
classes,  as  pre-Hispanic,  Hispanic  or  Colum- 
bian, those  of  the  present  time,  and  those 
which  are  spurious.  Now  that  travel  and 
interest  are  slowly  gathering  way,  in  these 
remote  regions,  it  is  common  to  find  the  begin- 
nings of  a trade  in  spurious  antiquities.  An  old 
Indian  woman  used  to  pester  me  frequently  to 
purchase  copper  idols  and  images  “ dug  up  from 
tombs,”  which,  it  was  easy  to  see,  were  of  recent 
manufacture.  However,  they  were  at  least 
moulded  from  some  genuine  antique,  and,  indeed, 
the  genuine  articles  and  huacos  from  the  tombs 
are  so  plentiful  in  Peru — especially  the  beautiful 
pottery — that  imitation  is  scarcely  likely  to  be 
a thriving  business  yet. 

As  regards  the  historical  records  of  the  early 
Americans,  no  help  is  forthcoming  from  any 
decipherment  of  these  concerning  any  supposed 

15 


226  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Asiatic  connection  or  contact,  or  at  any  rate  so 
far..  The  Mayan  hieroglyphics  and  papyri  have 
been  fairly  well  studied,  but  much  remains 
to  be  done.  The  Incas  did  not  preserve 
records  in  this  way,  but  it  is  considered 
that  the  preceding  people  did.  “ There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  pre-Inca  people  made  use  of 
hieroglyphics,  but  the  system  fell  into  disuse 
during  the  most  enlightened  epoch  of  the  Incas, 
and  as  the  art  of  deciphering  them  is,  up  to  the 
present  time,  unknown,  we  are  still  ignorant  of 
what  they  might  reveal.  According  to  a Spanish 
chronicler  1 it  was  forbidden  by  the  Incas  to 
preserve  writings,  for  they  were  looked  upon  as 
the  cause  of  evils  and  disease.” 

The  records  of  the  Incas  were  the  remark- 
able quipos , as  before  described,  which  replaced 
the  earlier  hieroglyphs.  These  were  bunches 
of  cords  of  wool,  knotted  and  coloured, 
every  knot  and  colour  of  which  told  some  tale, 
and  this  practically  constituted  the  Inca  writing. 
Historical  records  and  accounts  were  kept  by 
this  method,  and  the  special  custodians  of  the 
quipos,  the  librarians  or  historians,  were  expert 
in  their  use,  and  could  give  a minute  and  detailed 
account  of  what  had  happened  thereby.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  an  analogous  system  was 
used  by  the  Chinese,  Thibetans,  and  certain 
people  of  Oceania,  and  it  is  worthy  of  obser- 
vance “ that  the  island  of  Tahiti  retains  the 
Quechua  or  Inca  name  that  is  still  in  use, 
since  the  inhabitants  are  called  ‘ Tipona,’  a word 


1 Montesinos. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  227 


corresponding  to  * Quipo,’  but  as  the  letter  4 k ’ 
does  not  exist  in  their  language  it  is  rendered 
as  ‘t.’”1  In  Tibet  this  mnemonic  system  of 
writing  by  means  of  knotted  cords  was  current 
even  when  writing  was  introduced  in  the  seventh 
century.  Of  course  this  may  be  a universal  in- 
vention. Even  in  England  we  tie  a knot  in 
our  handkerchiefs  in  order  to  remember  some- 
thing. 

There  is  much  to  be  done  in  exploration  and 
discovery  among  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian 
culture  areas.  Especially  interesting  is  the 
region  of  the  Peruvian  coast,  the  strip  of  semi- 
arid  land  fifty,  to  eighty  miles  wide  and  fifteen 
hundred  miles  long,  between  the  Andes  and  the 
Pacific.  As  has  been  shown,  there  are  remains  of 
very  great  antiquity  here.  From  the  district  sur- 
rounding Trujillo  in  the  north,  down  past  Lima 
to  Pisco,  Nazca,  and  other  places  towards  the 
south  a careful  exploration  should  reveal  much. 
The  Inca  and  the  pre-Inca  remains  are  readily 
determined.  The  huacas  or  tombs  and  sacred 
places  are  by  no  means  all  explored. 

The  great  advantage  which  photography  now 
gives  the  archaeologist,  in  contrast  with  the  neces- 
sarily faulty  method  of  sketching  of  only  a genera- 
tion ago,  is  very  apparent  in  studying  books  upon 
these  subjects,  of  last  century.  Illustrations  in 
these  are  sometimes  seen  to  bear  only  the 
remotest  resemblance  to  the  actual  object,  giving 
often  an  erroneous  impression.  This  has  not 
always  been  the  fault  of  sketching,  but  of  bad 

1 “ El  Peru  en  1906,”  Lima. 


228  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


sketching,  or  of  drawing  on  the  imagination.  So 
monumental  a work,  for  example,  as  that  of 
“ Bancroft’s  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  of 
America  ” 1 is  extremely  poor  in  illustration,  and 
these  are  often  crude  and  inaccurate.  Doubtless 
it  was  impossible  to  obtain  accurate  views.  As 
an  example  the  picture  given  in  that  work  of 
the  Inca  ruins  of  Peru  is  misleading.  With- 
out exact  representation  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
pare form  and  pattern  belonging  to  one  culture 
with  those  of  another,  and  words  alone  cannot 
convey  any  sense  of  comparison.  To  see  a thing, 
either  actually  or  on  paper,  is  the  first  demand 
of  the  student. 

We  require  a careful  study  of  the  patterns 
and  designs  upon  the  early  Mexican  and  Peru- 
vian buildings,  pottery,  and  textile  fabrics,  and 
a comparison  with  each  other,  so  as  to  prove 
or  strengthen  the  influence  of  early  Mexico  on 
early  Peru,  or  vice  versa  ; and  a careful  com- 
parison of  all  these  decorative  patterns  and 
symbols  with  those  of  the  Old  World,  whether  on 
Persian  carpets,  Egyptian  costumes,  or  ancient 
pottery.  Such  comparisons  have,  of  course,  been 
made,  but  probably  not  by  the  best  scientific 
faculty,  and  not  in  a sufficient  range  or  abun- 
dantly enough.  The  illustrations  given  in  this 
book  are  but  a few  specimens  of  the  mass  of 
available  material.  The  florid  ornament  of  Chan 
Chan  on  the  Peruvian  coast  it  may  be  of  interest 
to  compare  with  Oriental  carpets  and  costumes, 
seeking  a similarity  in  pattern,  for  example. 

1 London,  1875. 


Facade  of  the  Hall  of  the  Columns. 


COMPARISONS  — CONTRADICTIONS  229 


There  is  something  almost  pathetic  involved 
in  a contemplation  of  the  praiseworthy  arts  and 
civilisations  of  prehistoric  America.  They  were 
cut  off  at  a blow  in  the  mere  act  of  discovery, 
ravished  wantonly  and  unnecessarily  by  six- 
teenth-century Europe,  and  they  seem  to  have 
formed  no  link  in  the  march  of  human  progress 
which  intelligent  man  bids  himself  to  think  is  the 
destiny  of  the  world.  They  were  utterly  swept 
aside,  and  became  mere  shells  of  ruins,  scattered 
monoliths,  and  other  fragments  here  and  there, 
as  if  they  were  a reminder  of  the  fleeting 
endeavours  of  man.  The  perished  civilisations 
of  Asia  and  Africa  were  at  least  links  in  a chain 
which  reached  in  ever-growing  importance  to  the 
world  of  to-day,  but  prehistoric  America  set  no 
seal  on  time,  influenced  no  act  of  posterity,  added 
nothing  to  the  plan  of  mankind,  as  far  as  can 
be  seen.  Yet  we  may  reflect  that  the  monuments 
of  these  ancient  isolated  American  people  have 
survived  by  virtue  of  their  good  qualities  of 
solidity  and  conscientiousness  in  construction. 
At  least  we  know  that  they  were  in  the  main  the 
perpetuation  in  stone  of  a religious  purpose, 
and  we  must  concede  to  their  industrious  builders 
the  lofty  sentiment  of  a desire  to  create  and 
bequeath  something  which  should  endure  long 
after  they  themselves  had  passed  away. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES 

Further  evidence — Linguistic  affinities — Analogies  of  signs 
and  symbols,  handicrafts  and  myths  — Imported  or 
indigenous  ? — Mongolian  affinities — The  Eskimos — Great 
variety  of  habitat — Mixed  Spanish  blood — Resemblance 
of  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  to  Japanese — The  Chinaman 
at  home  in  Peru — Language  offers  no  proof — Chinese 
and  Otomi — Possible  prehistoric  immigrations  from  Asia 
— Kubla  Khan — Affirmative  facts — Humboldt  and  the 
Mexican  and  Asiatic  calendars  — Babylonian-Greek 
imitation  — Similarities  in  ornament  — The  “ Greek  ” 
ornament  universal  — The  “ lost  ten  tribes  ” — The 
Swastika  ; widespread  occurrence — Oriental  symbols — 
The  cross  in  prehistoric  America — The  four  ages  of  the 
world  in  Asia  and  Peru — Mesopotamia  and  Peruvian 
river  craft — Rameses  III.  and  Lake  Titicaca. 

In  physical  and  linguistic  affinities,  in  analogies 
of  signs,  symbols,  devices,  the  similarities  of 
handicrafts,  the  comparisons  of  mythologies  and 
cosmogonies,  there  is  a vast  amount  of  material 
which  may  be  drawn  upon,  and  which,  indeed, 
has  been  drawn  upon,  by  numerous  writers  who 
have  sought  to  affirm  the  existence  of  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Old  World  upon  the  New,  and  to 
establish  a connection  in  early  times  between 
them.  Indeed,  it  is  impressed  upon  us  that  the 

230 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  231 


question  is  one  which  will  not  acknowledge,  at 
present,  any  finality. 

As  regards  the  earliest  suggested  influence, 
perhaps  the  main  contentions  have  centred 
around  a Mongolian  origin,  and  much  con- 
troversy has  been  waged  on  this  point.  One  of 
the  principal  American  writers  1 in  this  field, 
before  quoted,  stoutly  maintains  the  impossibility 
of  any  such  affinity,  and  discussing  the  compari- 
son of  types  of  skulls,  skin,  colour,  8ic.,  points 
to  the  fact  that  “ the  Mongols  are  the  roundest- 
headed  of  people,  and  the  Americans  in  nearest 
contact  therewith — that  is,  the  Eskimos  are  a 
long-headed  people — and  expresses  surprise  that 
Virchow  should  have  repeated  that  the  Eskimos 
are  of  Mongolian  descent.  “ If  colour,  hair,  and 
crania  are  thus  shown  to  present  such  feeble 
similarities,  what  is  it  that  has  given  rise  to  a 
notion  of  the  Mongoloid  origin  of  the  American 
Indians?  Is  it  the  so-called  Mongolian  eye,  the 
oblique  eye,  with  a seeming  droop  at  its  inner 
canthus  ? Yes,  a good  deal  has  been  made  of 
this  by  certain  writers.” 

The  writers  named  below  2 instanced  certain 
tribes  of  American  Indians,  such  as  the 
Eskimo,  the  tribes  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast, 
and  a tribe  of  the  Brazils,  which  they  assert  show 
marked  Chinese  traits,  and  have  argued  for  a 
Mongoloid  character.  Indeed,  the  relation  of 
Eskimo  and  Mongol  has  been  discussed  very 

1 Brinton,  ante. 

2 Ave-Lallemant,  St.  Hilaire,  Peschal,  and  Virchow,  also 
Cuvier. 


232  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


freely.  A recent  authority  before  quoted  con- 
siders that  while  the  American  aborigines  north 
of  Mexico  may,  as  to  their  general  constitution, 
be  considered  as  one  “ American  race  ” whose 
nearest  congener  is  to  be  found  in  the  “ Mon- 
golian race  ” of  eastern  Asia,  &c.,  there  is  a 
wide  range  in  variation  among  them  with 
respect  to  special  physical  characteristics.  Some 
authorities  1 separate  the  Eskimo  from  the 
Indians,  and  regard  them  as  a distinct  sub-race 
of  the  Mongolo  Malay.  This,  however,  in  the 
view  of  this  authority  is  hardly  necessary,  if  the 
view  of  other  students  is  adopted,  that  the  in- 
habitants of  North-eastern  Asia  and  America  are 
a unit  divided  into  a great  many  distinct  types, 
but  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  of  the  four 
large  divisions  of  mankind,  in  which  sub-divisions 
of  humanity,  based  on  the  hair,  the  Americans 
are  straight -haired  or  Mongoloid.2 

It  is  further  argued  that  environment  is 
responsible  for  the  changes  or  variations  in  the 
Americans.  “ Occupying  1350  of  latitude,  living 
on  the  shores  of  frozen  or  tropical  waters,  at 
altitudes  varying  from  sea  level  to  several  thou- 
sands of  feet ; in  forests,  grassy  prairies,  or 
deserts  ; here  starved,  there  in  plenty ; with  a 
night  here  of  six  months’  duration,  there  twelve 
hours  long,  here  among  health-giving  winds  and 
there  cursed  with  malaria — this  brown  man  be- 
came, in  different  culture  provinces,  brunette  or 

1 Like  Dr.  Hrdlicka,  “ Handbook  of  American  Indians 
North  of  Mexico,”  before  quoted. 

2 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ North  American  Indians.” 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  233 


black,  tall  or  short,  long-headed  or  short-headed, 
and  developed  on  his  own  hemisphere  variations 
from  one  average  type.”  1 This  question  of  the 
Mongolo-Malay  Eskimos  does  not,  of  course, 
preclude  the  hypothesis  of  various  migrant  waves 
of  humanity  from  Asia  at  various  times.  But 
the  concensus  of  opinion  that  the  Eskimos  are  of 
Mongol  origin  is  exceedingly  strong. 

Most  writers  agree  that  the  natives  of  North 
and  South  America  are  substantially  the  same 
in  race  characteristics.  Indeed,  the  traveller  who 
has  had  occasion  to  observe  the  Mexican  and 
Peruvian  natives  will  be  impressed  with  their 
similarity.  This  similarity  is  preserved  by  the 
Mestizo — that  is,  the  Spanish-American,  with  both 
Spanish  and  native  blood  in  his  veins.  In  this 
connection  it  is,  of  course,  to  be  recollected  that 
the  Spaniard  himself  embodies  a great  mixture 
of  races,  and  in  Mexico  he  brought  in  Iberian, 
Roman,  Celtic,  Semite,  Vandal,  Goth,  and 
Moorish  blood  and  mingled  it  with  the  native 
stock. 

Apart  from  the  more  scientific  arguments  as 
to  the  Mongolian  connection,  both  those  last 
cited  and  those  given  in  previous  chapters,  there 
are  to  be  considered  what  might  be  called 
“ popular  ” beliefs  and  reasonings  which  are  ex- 
tremely hard  to  argue  away  or  destroy,.  Thus  it 
is  that  a Mongolian  resemblance  or  affinity  in 
many  instances  is  apparent  to  the  observant 
traveller,  both  as  to  Mexico  and  Peru,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  indigenes  of  British  Columbia. 

1 Encyc.  Brit,  article  “ North  American  Indians.” 


234  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  Japanese  facial  form  and  expression  is  found 
constantly  among  the  Mexicans,  and  retains  it- 
self at  times  even  after  admixture  with  Spanish 
blood,  such  as  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  Mexicans 
of  to-day ; some  of  the  Mexicans,  however,  are 
dark  as  Hindus,  whom  they  resemble  at  times. 
In  the  remote  parts  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  the 
Asiatic  type  of  face  constantly  arrests  the 
traveller’s  attention,  and  to  this  the  native  custom 
of  the  wearing  of  the  pigtail  or  queue  of  course 
lends  added  significance.  Among  the  Indians 
of  the  uplands  of  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Ecuador  the 
queue  is  very  general.  In  the  general  appear- 
ance, however,  the  countenance  of  the  native  is 
often  strikingly  like  the  Chinese  and  Japanese, 
as  well  as  the  Tibetans,  and  this  is  a matter  which 
cannot  easily  be  set  aside.  Some  resemblances 
may  be  traced  in  the  illustrations  given  here.1 

Personally,  I have  been  greatly  impressed  with 
this  Oriental  type  among  the  natives  of  Mexico 
and  Peru ; and  I have  found  that  educated 
Peruvians  and  Mexicans  regard  it  as  a distinct 
probability  that  the  aborigines  show  early  Chinese 
influence.  “ All  I can  say  is,”  said  the  newly- 
appointed  Mexican  minister 2 to  the  Court  of 
St.  James’s,  as  we  conversed  upon  the  subject, 
“ that  the  indigenes  of  Yucatan,  in  some  cases, 
are  Chinese.  That  is  to  say,  they  resemble  them 
facially,  and  they  speak  like  them  : and,  indeed, 
some  close  resemblance  between  native  and 
Chinese  words  has  been  found  recently.” 

A further  point  worthy  of  note  is  the  marked 
1 See  pp.  160,  234.  2 February,  1912. 


Observe  the  “ Mongolian  ” faces. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  235 


sympathy  or  affinity  which  seems  to  exist  between 
Chinese  or  Japanese  immigrants  into  Peru  and 
the  natives,  and  such  immigrants  are  fairly 
plentiful.  The  Chinaman  seems  to  drop  into  his 
place  at  once,  as  if  he  were  returning  to  some 
ancient  home.  In  the  small  remote  villages  he 
seems  part  of  the  people,  and  he  shortly  has  at 
his  service  and  disposal  Indian  and  Chola  women 
who  soon  acknowledge  him  as  their  lord,  without 
any  sense  of  repugnance.  The  Chinaman,  how- 
ever, is  generally  regarded  as  raquitico  in  Peru, 
and  his  progeny  with  the  native  woman  do  not 
appear  readily  to  survive,  although  further 
observation  would  be  necessary  to  establish  this 
as  a scientific  fact. 

It  has  been  a subject  for  constant  remark  that 
the  native  Mexicans  are  quite  dissimilar  to  the 
people  of  the  lands  to  the  eastward — Europe  and 
Africa — but  that  they  are  “ not  unlike  the  Mon- 
goloid races  to  the  west,  the  people  of  North  and 
East  Asia,  and  to  some  extent  of  the  Polynesians.. 
The  general  tendency  among  anthropologists  has 
been  to  admit  a common  origin,  however  remote, 
between  the  tribes  of  Tartary  and  America.”  1 
It  may  be  that  the  near  future  will  help  us  in 
this  matter  ; the  awakening  of  China,  possibly 
to  be  followed  up  by  a greater  knowledge  of 
and  research  in  that  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  may 
bring  to  light  something  regarding  early  con- 
tact with  America.  There  is  a new  ferment  in 
Asia,  stronger  perhaps  than  ever  to-day. 

To  consider  now  briefly  the  question  of  lan- 
1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Mexico.” 


236  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


guage,  the  supposed  affinity  in  linguistic  matters 
between  the  Mongolian  people  and  the  early 
Americans  has  also  been  a well-discussed  theme. 
It  has  been  exhaustively  analysed  by  a writer 
before  quoted,1  who  arrives  at  a result  in  con- 
formity with  his  other  conclusions,  that  there  is 
no  foundation  for  such  supposed  affinity.  “ There 
is  one  prominent  example,  which  has  often  been 
put  forward,  of  a supposed  monosyllabic 
American  language ; and  its  relation  to  the 
Chinese  has  frequently  been  asserted — a relation-! 
ship,  it  has  been  said,  extending  both  to  its 
vocabulary  and  its  grammar.  This  is  the  Otomi, 
spoken  in  and  near  the  Valley  of  Mexico.”  The 
Otomies,  it  will  be  recollected,  were  a warlike 
people  who  inhabited  part  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico 
in  territory  adjacent  to  the  Aztecs,  and  who  gave 
such  fierce  battle  to  Cortes  and  his  defeated 
soldiers  after  the  famous  Noche  Triste  and  retreat 
from  the  siege  of  Tenochtitlan  or  Mexico  city, 
along  the  fateful  causeway.2 

“ Some  have  thought  that  the  Maya  of  Yuca- 
tan has  in  its  vocabulary  a certain  number  of 
Chinese  elements,  but  all  these  can  readily  be 
explained  on  the  doctrine  of  coincidences. 
Indeed,  coincidences  of  equal  worth  have  been 
marshalled,  and  show  that  the  Nahuatl  is  an 
Aryan  dialect  descended  from  the  Sanscrit.  In 
fine,  any,  even  the  remotest,  linguistic  connec- 
tion between  American  and  Mongolian  languages 
has  yet  to  be  shown,  and  any  linguist  who  con- 
siders the  radically  diverse  genius  of  the  two 
1 Brinton,  ante.  2 See  Prescott ; also  my  “ Mexico.” 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  237 


groups  of  tongues  will  not  expect  to  find  such 
relationship,”  says  Dr.  Brinton. 

A more  recent  authority  1 says  : “ This  original 
connection,  if  it  may  be  accepted,  would  seem 
to  belong  to  a long-past  period,  to  judge  from 
the  failure  of  all  attempts  to  discover  an  affinity 
between  the  languages  of  America  and  Asia.  At 
whatever  date  the  Americans  began  to  people 
America,  they  must  have  had  time  to  import  or 
develop  the  numerous  families  of  languages 
actually  found  there,  in  none  of  which  has  com- 
munity of  origin  been  satisfactorily  proved  with 
any  other  language-group  at  home  or  abroad. 
In  Mexico  itself  the  languages  of  the  Nahua 
nations,  of  which  the  Aztec  is  the  best-known 
dialect,  show  no  connection  of  origin  with  the 
language  of  the  Otomi  tribes,  nor  either  of  these 
with  the  languages  of  the  regions  of  the  ruined 
cities  of  Central  America,  the  Quiche  of  Guate- 
mala and  the  Maya  of  Yucatan.” 

Bancroft,2  in  dealing  with  the  coast  languages 
of  North  America,  points  to  the  great  diversity 
of  such  languages  and  dialects  on  the  sea- 
board. “ In  California  the  confusion  becomes 
interminable : as  if  Babel-builders  from  every 
quarter  of  the  earth  had  here  met  to  the  eternal 
confounding  of  all ; yet  there  are  linguistic 
families,  even  in  California,  principally  in  the 
northern  part.  South  of  Acapulco,  on  the 
Mexican  coast,  the  Aztec  tongue  holds  for  some 
distance.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  Malays, 

1 The  article  “ Mexico  ” in  the  Encyc.  Brit.,  last  edition. 

2 “ Native  Races,”  vol.  iii. 


238  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Chinese,  or  Japanese,  or  all  of  them,  did  at  some 
time  appear  in  what  is  now  North  America,  in 
such  numbers  as  materially  to  influence  lan- 
guage, but  hitherto  no  Asiatic  nor  European 
tongue,  excepting  always  the  Eskimo,  has  been 
found  in  America.  Theorisers  enough  there  have 
been  and  will  be  ; half -fledged  scientists,  ignorant 
of  what  others  have  done,  or  rather  failed  to  do, 
will  not  cease  to  bring  forward  wonderful 
analogies  and  striking  conceptions.”  “ The 
absurdity  of  these  speculations,”  he  adds,  “ is 
apparent  to  all  but  the  speculator.  The  Abbe 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  who  has  given  the  subject 
more  years  of  study  and  more  pages  of  printed 
matter  than  any  other  writer,  unless  it  be  the 
half-crazed  Lord  Kingsborough,  first  attempts 
to  prove  that  the  Maya  languages  are  derived 
from  the  Latin,  Greek,  English,  German,  Scan- 
dinavian, or  other  Aryan  tongues  ; then  that  all 
these  languages  are  but  offshoots  from  the 
Maya  itself,  which  is  the  only  true  primeval  lan- 
guage. So  much  for  intemperate  speculation, 
whether  learned  or  shallow.” 

The  only  conclusion,  it  would  appear,  in  this 
connection,  that  can  be  arrived  at  is  that  a period 
extremely  remote  must  have  elapsed  since  any, 
affinity  in  language  between  Asia  and  America 
existed,  and  that  during  this  long  period  this 
language  has  passed  into  its  present  varied  and 
distinct  forms. 

As  showing  how  opinion  and  knowledge 
change  and  develop,  a very  recent  writer  1 upon 

1 “ The  Wanderings  of  People,”  Haddon,  Cambridge 
University  Press,  London,  1911. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  239 


this  subject  leaves  an  open  door  to  the 
prehistoric  immigrant.  He  considers  that 
“ ethnologists  are  generally  agreed  as  to  the 
similarity  of  type  prevailing  among  most  of  the 
peoples  of  the  New  World,  which  points  to  a 
common  parentage,”  and  remarks  upon  the  re- 
semblance to  a Mongolian  type,  which  has  been 
discussed  already  here,  and  holds  that  it  is  to 
Asia  rather  than  to  Europe  that  we  must  look  for 
the  first  ancestors  of  the  American  Indians.  Not- 
withstanding the  great  number  of  languages 
existing  in  America,  and  especially  in  Mexico, 
as  has  been  remarked,  there  is,  it  is  considered, 
“ a closer  affinity  between  them  than  previously 
supposed,  and  it  has  even  been  said  that  ‘ lan- 
guage in  America  is  the  unmistakable  voice  of 
a race,  echoed  through  a thousand  vernacular 
dialects.’  ” Various  migrations  of  peoples  from 
the  Old  World,  Europe  as  well  as  Asia,  at  various 
periods  are  here  held  to  be  the  rational  postulate, 
and  that  view  seems  to  be  the  latest  upon  the 
subject.  Immigrants  from  Asia  appear  to  have 
“ proceeded  down  the  Pacific  slope  and  to  have 
populated  Central  and  South  America,  with  an 
overflow  into  the  south  of  North  America,” 
according  to  this  writer. 

This  entering  of  America  from  Asia  from  the 
north  and  down  the  Pacific  coast  zone  appears 
to  me  a natural  supposition.  If  we  regard  the 
geography  of  the  twin  continents,  we  see  how 
unlikely  it  was  that  these  prehistoric  immigrants 
would  forsake  the  line  of  least  resistance  and 
cross  the  barrier  of  the  North  and  South 


240  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


American  Cordilleras.  Even  to-day  these  moun- 
tains, throughout  their  eight  or  ten  thousand 
miles  length,  are  only  crossed  by  a few  difficult 
railways,  such  as  the  Canadian  Pacific  and 
Central  Pacific  in  North  America,  and  the  Oroya 
and  Transandine  Railway  in  Peru  and  Chile. 
Heavy  gradients  and  curves  and  incessant  snow- 
plough fighting  are  the  means  by  which  these 
communications  between  the  Pacific  seaboard  and 
the  American  interior  are  kept  up.  But  it  is 
easy  to  see  how,  in  the  few  places  where  these 
mountains  break  down — as  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, giving  entrance  to  Arizona,  Colorado,  and 
Mexico,  and,  in  Central  America,  in  Tehuantepec 
and  Guatemala — these  prehistoric  people  might 
have  passed  behind  them.  The  Cliff  Dwellers 
and  the  Aztecs  may  have  been  part  of  successive 
waves  which  left  their  human  eddies.  The  other 
parts  of  South  America  appear  to  have  been 
peopled  by  another  stream  of  immigrants,  with 
whom  the  mound-builders  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
Caribs,  and  the  culture  area  of  northern  South 
America  are  connected. 

Possibly  it  is  worthy  of  remark — I have  re- 
marked it  in  my  travels — that  as  regards  the 
supposed  Mongolian  affinity  a “ Chinese  ” in- 
flexion occurs,  or  seems  to  occur,  in  some  place- 
names  in  the  interior  of  Peru.  Examples  of  such 
are  Puntou,  Punchao,  and  others,  little  Indian 
hamlets  on  the  Maranon.  Pronounced  by  the 
natives  they  are  exactly  like  Chinese  words. 
Punchao  is  a Quechua  word,  meaning  “ sun  ” 
and  “ eye.”  Yonan  is  a Peruvian  coast  town.  In 


aasss* rS 

SANTA 

MONJAS  DC  la P0I> 

,R“^V£NC|0N^0,I«P#», 


COLOSSAL  HEAD  CARVED  IN  DIORITE,  MEXICO. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  241 


other  ways  also  the  nomenclature  of  things  and 
places  and  the  inflexion  of  the  voice  seem 
markedly  Chinese,  and  are  so  commented  upon 
by  Peruvians  of  the  interior. 

The  case,  however,  for  linguistic  affinity  is 
not  of  a nature,  as  far  as  present  knowledge1 
goes,  to  yield  much  support  to  the  theory  of 
Mongolian  origin,  and  we  must  turn  now  to  the 
field  of  supposed  similarities  in  symbols,  devices, 
ornamentations,  and  other  matters,  such  as  have 
furnished  food  for  discussion  among  archaeo- 
logists. 

Of  course,  between  the  very  remote  periods 
of  early  culture  and  the  European  contact  by 
the  advent  of  Columbus,  Cortes,  Pizarro,  and 
others,  there  is  no  reason  why  immigrants  should 
not  have  arrived  on  the  west  coast  of  America, 
no  records  of  whom  have  remained.  There  was 
no  obstacle  to  communication  between  Asia,  or, 
indeed,  the  South  Sea  Islands,  with  what  are 
now  the  coasts  of  California,  Mexico,  and  Peru, 
and,  as  has  been  mentioned,  junks  have  con- 
stantly drifted  over.  There  is,  indeed,  a legend 
that  a Chinese  junk  in  the  time  of  Kublai  Khan 
reached  the  coast  of  Peru.1  Kublai  Khan,  the 
founder  of  the  Mongols,  who  lived  from  1216 
to  1294,  delighted  in  accounts  of  foreign 
countries,  and  sent  out  great  armaments  by  sea 
and  many  expeditions,  some  of  which  reached 
the  States  of  Southern  India,  Eastern  Africa, 
and  even  Madagascar.  These  expeditions  were 
brought  about  by  an  inordinate  love  for  the 

1 Diccionario  Hispano-Americano,  Lima. 

16 


242  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


nominal  extension  of  his  empire  by  the  exaction 
of  tribute  and  the  claiming  of  homage  and  sub- 
mission. He  built  enormous  palaces,  patronised 
literature,  and  had  a keen  desire  for  knowledge. 
He  caused  to  be  constructed  great  astronomical 
instruments,  and  established  an  elaborate  system 
of  posts  and  mail-carriers  throughout  the  country  ; 
and  it  is  a matter  of  history  that  he  cared 
for  the  poor  and  took  measures  to  relieve  their 
distresses.  In  Peru  the  system  of  posts  through- 
out the  Inca  Empire  was  a remarkable  feature 
— post-houses  and  runners  being  maintained  by 
the  Government  ; and  the  care  that  the  Inca 
rulers  took  of  the  welfare  of  the  poor  forms  one 
of  the  most  characteristic  parts  of  their  regimen. 

Kublai  Khan’s  time  was,  of  course,  much 
subsequent  to  the  establishing  of  the  Inca 
dynasty  in  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  but 
it  was  at  this  period,  or  later,  according  to  the 
Inca  historians,  that  many  of  the  great  buildings 
of  the  Incas  were  erected.  It  is  at  least  argu- 
able that  Mongolian  influence  crossed  the  Pacific 
to  America  at  that  time,  as  well  as  previously. 
Every  succeeding  Inca  chief  built  his  own  temple 
anew,  but  it  is  conceivable  that  those  of  the  later 
chiefs,  from  Pachacutec  to  Huayna-Capac,  which 
are  among  the  most  solid  remaining,  were  influ- 
enced in  their  character  by  Asiatic  emissaries 
of  Kublai  Khan.  I do  not  know  if  this  view  has 
been  considered  before,  and  there  are  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  its  acceptance. 

In  discussing  this  matter  of  Asiatic  origin 
for  the  American  cultures,  a recent  authority 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  243 


says  : “ There  are  details  of  American  civilisa- 
tion which  are  not  easily  accounted  for  on 
the  supposition  that  they  were  borrowed 
from  Asia.  They  do  not  seem  ancient 
enough  to  warrant  a remote  Asiatic  origin  of 
the  nations  of  America,  but  rather  to  be  the 
results  of  comparatively  modern  intercourse 
between  Asia  and  America.  Humboldt  com- 
pared the  Mexican  calendar  with  that  in  use  in 
Eastern  Asia.  The  Mongols,  Tibetans,  Chinese, 
and  other  neighbouring  nations  have  a cycle  or 
series  of  twelve  animals,  viz.,  rat,  bull,  tiger, 
hare,  dragon,  serpent,  horse,  goat,  ape,  cock, 
dog,  pig,  which  may  possibly  be  an  imitation 
of  the  ordinary  Babylonian-Greek  Zodiac  familiar 
to  ourselves.  The  Mongolian  people  not  only 
count  their  lunar  months  by  these  signs,  but  they 
reckon  the  successive  days  by  them,  as  rat-day, 
bull-day,  tiger-day,  &c.,  and  also  by  combining 
the  twelve  signs  in  rotation  with  the  elements, 
they  obtain  a means  of  making  each  year  in 
the  sixty-year  cycle,  or  the  wood-rat  year,  the 
fire-tiger  year,  &c.  This  method  is  highly  arti- 
ficial, and  the  reappearance  of  its  principle  in 
the  Mexican  and  Central  American  calendar  is 
suggestive  of  importation  from  Asia.1 

Humboldt  considered  that  the  intricacy  and 
perfection  of  the  Maya  calendar  system  embody- 
ing so  highly  developed  and  accurate  a chron- 
ology, which  had  amazed  European  scholars, 
could  not  have  been  evolved  in  America,  nor 

1 Encyc.  Brit.  “ Mexico.”  See  also  p.  113  of  the  present 
work. 


244  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


be  of  native  origin,  and  that  it  must  have  had  a 
connection  or  origin  in  the  Far  East.  A point 
of  resemblance  to  which  attention  has  since  been 
called  is  “ the  Mexican  belief  in  the  nine  stages 
of  heaven  and  hell,  an  idea  which  nothing  in 
Nature  would  directly  suggest  to  a barbaric 
people,  but  which  corresponds  to  the  idea  of 
successive  heavens  and  hells  among  Brahmans 
and  Buddhists,  who  apparently  learned  it  (in 
common  with  our  own  ancestors)  from  the 
Babylonian-Greek  astronomical  theory  of  suc- 
cessive stages  or  concentric  planetary  spheres 
belonging  to  the  planets,”  &c.1 

The  fact  that  there  are  constantly  recurring 
similarities  of  ornamentation  and  device  on 
pottery,  textile  work,  and  carvings  throughout 
early  American  and  Asiatic  countries  is,  of 
course,  a matter  of  common  knowledge,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  explain  these  as  coincidences, 
and  to  believe  that  they  are  not  in  any  way  of 
common  origin  or  derived  the  one  from  the 
other.  Among  such  matters  are  lines,  waves, 
zigzags,  fish  forms,  wedge  forms,  and  other 
patterns,  encountered  in  Mexico,  Central 
America,  Peru,  the  Cliff  Dwellings,  and  even  in 
British  Columbia,  corresponding  with  each  other 
and  with  apparently  similar  forms  on  objects  of 
art  from  Babylonia,  Chaldea,  Polynesia,  Persia, 
Egypt,  &c.,  and,  indeed,  a comparison  of  such 
objects  or  their  illustration  the  world  over  will 
furnish  endless  examples.  Among  the  most 
persistent  of  these  is  the  “ Greek  fret,”  carved 
1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Mexico.” 


Pj  r^H 


4. 


llii 

JEM; 


3. 


8. 


AWWV\ 


9. 


Fig.  i is  a pattern  on  a textile  fabric,  a ponclio  dug  up  from  a 
tomb  in  the  ancient  necropolis  of  Ancon  on  the  coast  of  Peru, 
slightly  north  of  Lima. 

Fig.  2 is  a pattern  on  pottery  from  the  same  place. 

Fig.  3 is  from  a carved-stone  vase  from  the  Mosquito  Coast  in 
Nicaragua,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  where  I sketched  it. 

Figs.  4 and  5 are  from  the  ruins  of  Mitla,  in  Southern  Mexico, 
sculptured  in  stone  and  mosaic  work  on  the  walls. 

Fig.  6 is  from  the  plateau  region  of  Central  Mexico,  sculptured 
stone,  near  Zochicalco. 

Fig.  7 is  from  pottery  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers  in  Arizona  or  Colorado. 

Figs.  8 and  9 are  native  ornamentation  on  a carved  cocoanut 
shell  and  dish  from  Hiva-Oa  and  Fatu-Hiva  Island  of  Polynesia 


246  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


on  stone  in  so  many  places,  whether  in  Mexico 
or  Peru,  whether  in  Greece  or  at  Baalbek,  and 
worked  upon  textile  fabrics  and  pottery  in 
numerous  widely  separated  regions.  The  accom- 
panying illustration  shows  a few  occurrences 
of  these,  which  I have  collected  from  various 
sources. 

The  same  device  occurs  on  the  Guatemala 
Stelae  and  on  the  facade  of  the  Chichen  Itza, 
Yucatan,  ruins,  and  upon  the  pre-Inca  mono- 
lithic doorway  of  Tiahuanako  in  Bolivia,  and 
on  the  early  Peruvian  coast  pottery,  most  of 
which  are  illustrated  in  this  book.  A combina- 
tion of  this  design  with  a “ stepped  ” pattern, 
or  the  stepped  pattern  alone,  is  also  singularly 
prevalent.  It  is  displayed  at  Mitla  very  promi- 
nently (Fig.  5 and  general  illustrations),  and  on 
the  Peruvian  coast  pottery,  and  is  part  of  the 
central  hieroglyphic  on  the  Tiahuanako  door- 
way, and  is  seen  on  the  belts  of  Peruvian 
natives  (see  page  234).  This  device  must  un- 
doubtedly have  some  special  significance,  and 
it  is  interesting  to  observe  it,  figured  upon 
ancient  Oriental  textile  fabrics,  one  of  which 
may  be  seen  illustrated  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,  from  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum, 
where  around  the  edge  of  a carpet  is  the  Mitla 
design  almost  exactly.  These  devices,  as  far 
as  my  observation  goes,  are  found  on  the  pre- 
Inca  and  pre-Aztec  objects,  but  not  on  the  Inca 
and  Aztec  objects  themselves.  In  the  publica- 
tion mentioned  there  is  also  an  illustration  of 
an  Egypto-Roman  textile  fabric  of  the  third  or 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  247 


fourth  century,  showing  the  “ Greek  ” pattern. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  this  design  as  having 
been  brought  from  Asia  to  America  on  the  belts 
and  clothing  of  wanderers  (see  also  page  194). 

One  of  the  writers  before  quoted — Dr.  Brinton 
— who  is  very  positive  as  to  the  impossibility 
of  a foreign  origin,  either  of  race,  ornament,  or 
theology,  says  : “ The  widespread  belief  that  the 
American  tribes  are  genealogically  connected 
with  the  Mongolians  is  constantly  directing  the 
studies  of  many  Americanists,  very  much  as  did 
at  one  time  the  belief  that  the  red  men  are  the 
present  representatives  of  the  ‘ ten  lost  tribes  ’ of 
Israel.  Neither  in  language,  culture,  nor 
physical  peculiarities  is  there  any  affinity. 
American  culture  was  homebred,  and  has  bor- 
rowed nothing  from  either  Europe,  Asia,  or 
Africa.  Compare  the  rich  theology  of  Mexico 
or  Peru  with  the  barren  myths  of  China.  The 
theory  of  Governments,  the  method  of  house  con- 
struction, the  position  of  women,  the  art  of  war, 
are  all  equally  diverse,  equally  un-Mongolian.  It 
is  useless  to  bring  up  single  art  products  or 
devices.  The  sooner  Americanists  generally,  and 
especially  those  of  Europe,  recognise  the  abso- 
lute autochthony  of  native  American  culture,  the 
more  valuable  will  their  studies  become.  It  is 
no  longer  in  season  to  quote  the  opinions  of 
Humboldt  and  his  contemporaries,  as  we  know 
that  the  development  of  human  culture  is 
governed  by  laws  with  which  they  were  un- 
acquainted. The  conclusion  of  Cuvier,  who 
supported  the  American-Mongolian  affinity,  as 


248  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


also  that  of  Virchow,  who  maintained  that  the 
Eskimos  are  of  Mongolian  origin,  cannot  be 
supported  ” — according  to  Brinton. 

One  of  the  most  universal  symbols  or  orna- 
ments found  throughout  many  lands,  whether  of 
Asia  or  America,  and  belonging  to  varied 
periods,  is  the  familiar  form  of  the  Swastika, 
popularly  regarded  as  sort  of  good  luck  charm. 
It  appears  in  Mexico,  Peru,  Java,  Babylon, 
Greece,  and  elsewhere,  in  one  form  or  another, 
and  is  of  much  interest.  The  device  is  one  of 
the  forms  of  the  pre-Christian  cross  most  fre- 
quently met  with.  The  use  of  the  cross  as  a 
religious  symbol  in  pre-Christian  times,  it  will 
be  recollected,  and  among  non-Christian  peoples 
may  probably  be  regarded  as  almost  universal, 
and  in  many  cases  it  was  connected  with  some 
form  of  Nature-worship.  The  swastika  is  very 
widely  distributed,  and  is  found  on  all  kinds  of 
objects.  “ Ten  centuries  before  the  Christian  era 
it  was  used  in  India  and  China  as  a religious 
emblem,  and  it  is  met  with  on  Buddhist  coins  and 
inscriptions  from  various  parts  of  India.1  It  is 
on  record  that  a fine  sepulchral  urn  found  at 
Shroptian,  in  Norfolk,  now  in  the  British 
Museum,  is  ornamented  with  a swastika.  This 
has  “ three  bands  of  cruciform  ornaments  round 
it,  the  two  uppermost  of  which  are  plain  circles, 
each  containing  a plain  cross ; the  lowest  is 
formed  of  a series  of  squares,  in  each  of  which 
is  a swastika.”  See  also  the  illustration  in  the 


* See  article  in  the  Encyc.  Brit. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  249 


present  book  of  the  pottery  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers 
of  Colorado  (page  90). 

In  the  illustration  given  of  the  “ Greek  ” 
patterns  the  device  of  the  swastika  might  appear 
to  have  formed  the  foundation  of  the  ornament 
on  the  carved  coconut  shell  from  the  Mar- 
quesas : a species  of  gammated  cross  enclosed 
in  a circle.  As  mentioned  in  a former  chapter, 
the  swastika  was  found  freely  depicted  on 
pottery  from  the  ruins  of  the  Cliff  Dwellers  in 
Arizona,  and  it  has  been  encountered  among 
aboriginal  decorations  on  the  coast  of  Maine. 
In  the  Vatican  Museum  there  is  “ an  Etruscan 
fibula  of  gold  which  is  marked  with  the  swastika, 
but  it  is  a device  of  such  common  occurrence 
on  objects  of  pre-Christian  origin,  that  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  specify  individual 
instances.  The  same  holds  good  with  the  cross 
as  a device  in  various  formis,  often  enclosed  in 
a circle,  and  such  are  to  be  found  in  every 
important  museum.  The  early  Christians  were 
ever  eager  to  trace  hidden  prophetical  allusions 
to  the  truth  pf  their  faith,  and  strove  to  find 
such  in  the  pre-Christian  cross,”  says  the 
authority  last  quoted. 

The  burial-mound  of  Bharahat,  about 
120  miles  south-west  of  Allahabad,  when  ex- 
cavated in  1874  was  found  to  contain  a monu- 
ment, one  of  the  most  imposing  and  handsome 
in  India.  “There  were  four  entrances  facing 
the  cardinal  points,  and  this  gave  the  whole 
ground-plan  of  the  monument,  and  no  doubt 
designedly  so,  the  shape  of  a gigantic  svastika 


250  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


(a  symbol  of  good  fortune).  The  age  of  the 
monument  has  been  approximately  fixed  in  the 
third  century  B.C.”  Persia  is  regarded  as  being 
the  real  home  of  the  swastika,  but  some  have 
looked  upon  the  device  as  the  remaining  emblem 
of  a vanished  universal  culture. 

Brinton 1 says  much  that  is  of  interest  re- 
garding the  origin  of  such  symbols.  “ My 
intention  is  to  combat  the  opinions  of  those 
writers  who  assert  that  because  certain  well- 
known  Oriental  symbols,  as  the  Ta  Ki,  the 
Triskeles,  the  Svastika,  and  the  Cross,  are  found 
among  the  American  Aborigines,  they  are 
evidence  of  Mongolian,  Buddhistic,  Christian,  or 
Aryan  immigration,  previous  to  the  discovery  by 
Columbus,  and  I shall  also  try  to  show  that  the 
position  is  erroneous  of  those  2 who  maintain  that 
‘ it  is  impossible  to  give  a satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  the  religious  significances  of  the  cross 
as  a religious  symbol  in  America.’  They  can 
be  shown  to  have  arisen  from  certain  fixed  rela- 
tions of  man  to  his  environment,  and  therefore 
are  of  little  value  in  tracing  ethnic  affinities.” 

This  author  then  analyses  the  three-legged 
device  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  traces  its  origin 
to  Sicilian  coins  and  those  of  Lycia  in  Asia 
Minor,  struck  five  hundred  years  before  our  era, 
its  occurrence  on  textile  articles  to-day  in  the 
latter  region,  and  upon  Slavic  and  Teutonic  vases 
from  mounds  of  the  bronze  age  in  Central  and 

1 Brinton,  “ Sacred  Symbols  of  America.” 

2 Such  as  William  H.  Holmes,  “Ancient  Cities  of  the  New 
World,”  Chicago. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  251 


Northern  Europe.  He  reiterates  its  resemblance 
to  the  Chinese  symbol  of  the  Ta  Ki,  or  “ The 
Great  Writer,”  and  mentions  that  its  occurrence 
in  America  has  been  taken  by  a French  ethnolo- 
gist as  indicating  the  preaching  of  Buddhistic 
doctrines  in  the  New  World. 

“ This  well-known  form  of  the  Svastika,  or 
hooked  or  gammated  cross,  occurs,  as  has  been 
pointed  out  often,  in  Greco-Italic  and  Iberian 
remains,  and  upon  its  archaeological  distribution 
much  has  been  written  and  various  origins  or 
meanings  assigned  to  it.  Whatever  its  signifi- 
cance, we  are  safe  in  considering  it  a form  of 
the  cross.  The  widely  spread  mystic  purpose 


l 

l 

of  the  cross  symbol  has  long  been  a matter  of 
comment.  In  many  parts  of  America  the  native 
regarded  it  with  reverence  anterior  to  the  arrival 
of  Europeans,  as  in  the  Old  World  it  was  long 
a sacred  symbol  before  it  became  the  distinctive 
emblem  of  Christianity.” 

In  an  interesting  exposition  the  same  writer 
draws  the  deductions  that  the  before-mentioned 
emblems,  which  in  varying  forms  are  found 
scratched  upon  rocks  or  wood,  or  embroidered 
on  buffalo  robes  and  other  fabrics  in  primitive 
North  American  art,  are  developments  of  a 
depicting  of  the  sunrise,  or  sun -cycles.  He  gives 
the  Aztec  figure  of  the  year-cycle  in  its  principal 


252  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


elements,  taken  from  the  atlas  to  Duran’s 
“ Historia  de  Nueva  Espaha,”  adding  : “ In  this 
remarkable  figure  we  observe  the  development 
and  primary  signification  of  those  world-wide 
symbols  the  square,  the  cross,  the  wheel,  the 
circle,  and  the  svastika.” 

“ The  full  analysis  of  this  suggestive  and 
authentic  astronomy,”  adds  Brinton,  “ will  reveal 
the  secret  of  most  of  the  rich  symbolism  and 
mythology  of  the  American  nations.  It  is  easy 
to  see  how  it  was  derived  from  the  Nahuatl  doc- 
trine of  the  Four  Motions  of  the  Sun,  with  its 
accessories  of  the  Four  Ages  of  the  World.  The 
Tree  of  Life,  so  constantly  recurring  as  a design 
in  Maya  and  Mexican  art,  is  but  another  out- 
growth of  the  same  symbolic  expression  for  the 
same  idea.  That  we  find  the  same  figurative 
symbolism  in  China,  India,  Lycia,  Assyria,  and 
the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  on  ancient  urns  from 
Etruria,  Iberia,  Gallia,  Sicilia,  and  Scythia  need 
not  surprise  us,  and  ought  not  to  prompt  us  to 
assert  any  historic  connection  on  this  account 
between  the  early  development  of  man  in  the 
New  and  Old  Worlds.”  1 

Here,  however,  are  some  views  in  an  opposite 
direction  : — 

“ Humboldt  also  discussed  the  Mexican  doc- 
trine of  the  four  ages  of  the  world,  belonging 
to  water,  air,  earth,  and  fire,  and  ending  respec- 
tively by  earthquake,  tempest,  and  conflagration. 
The  resemblance  of  this  to  some  versions  of  the 
Hindu  doctrine  of  the  four  ages  of  Yuga  is  hardly 
1 See  also  p.  91. 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  253 


to  be  accounted  for  except  on  the  hypothesis 
that  the  Mexican  theology  contains  ideas  learned 
from  Asiatics.”  1 

The  idea  or  occurrence  of  four  as  a sacred 
number  has  occupied  the  attention  of  various 
writers  on  Peru,  among  them  a Peruvian  savant, 
whose  studies  on  ancient  American  lore  have 
been  profound,  and  whose  opinions  are  worthy 
of  credence.2  This  is  Dr.  Pablo  Patron,  from 
whom  I will  translate  : — 

“ The  number  four  appears  as  a sacred  number 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  was  also  so  con- 
sidered by  the  primitive  people  of  Babylon  and 
Assyria.  Many  of  the  early  civilised  people  of 
America  have  placed  it  in  the  same  category. 
Is  this  merely  accidental?  I do  not  think  so, 
or  at  least  not  as  regards  the  early  Peruvians. 
The  Chaldeans  and  Egyptians  divided  the  world 
into  four  houses  or  regions,  according  to  the 
cardinal  points  and  corresponding  to  four  great 
gods.  ‘ Thothmes  III.  is  styled  the  great  king 
who  has  taken  possession  of  the  four  regions 
of  the  world,’  according  to  Maspero  and  other 
writers,  and  from  the  very  remote  times  of  ancient 
Chaldea  kings  took  the  title  of  Lords  of  the  Four 
Regions  of  the  Earth,  among  them  Naramsin.  I 
believe,  with  other  writers,  that  the  earliest 
Chinese  civilisation  came,  directly  or  indirectly, 
from  Mesopotamia,  and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find 
this  conception  of  lord  of  the  four  regions  of  the 
earth  among  the  ancient  Chinese.  The  ancient 

1 Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Mexico.” 

2 Dr.  Pablo  Patron  of  Lima,  “ Notas  Sueltas.” 


254  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Peruvians,  still  more  strongly  affiliated  than  the 
Chinese  to  that  old  culture,  did  what  was  to 
have  been  expected— divided  their  territory  into 
four  parts  and  gave  a name  to  each  one.” 
Quoting  Garcilasso,  the  Inca  historian,  the 
above  writer  continues  : — 

“ The  Inca  kings  divided  the  empire  into  four 
parts  which  they  called  Tahuantinsuyu,  which 
means  the  four  parts  of  the  earth,  corresponding 
with  the  four  principal  parts  of  the  heavens — 
east,  west,  north,  south.  The  people  addressed 
their  king  on  occasions  as  Tahuantinsuya  Capac 
—that  is,  Master  of  the  Four  Quarters  of  the 
Globe.  Those  who  maintain  that  this  designa- 
tion or  partition  of  the  earth  began  with  the 
Incas  are  mistaken.  It  existed  long  before.” 
The  same  writer  also  discusses  the  similarity 
of  appearance  between  Asiatic  races,  especially 
in  the  matter  of  skin  and  hair,  and  the  aborigines 
of  America,  which  has  been  brought  forward  by 
many  observers,  and  he  adduces  matters  in  con- 
nection therewith  concerning  the  people  of  early 
Mesopotamia.  He  also  draws  comparison  be- 
tween the  primitive  craft  of  Peru  and  Mesopo- 
tamia and  Egypt.  The  catamaran  and  rafts 
formed  of  inflated  sheep  or  goat  skins  used  in 
very  remote  times  by  the  primitive  navigators 
of  the  Mesopotamian  rivers,  and  shown  in  bas- 
relief  on  the  Assyrian  palaces,  and  the  mode  of 
propulsion  of  these  was  similar  to  that  used  at 
the  times  of  the  Incas  by  the  Indians  on  the 
coast  of  Arica  in  Peru-Chile  in  their  craft  formed 
of  sealskins,  and,  indeed,  used  as  late  as  1730 


CONFLICTING  TESTIMONIES  255 


by  Valparaiso  fishermen.  He  quotes  Garcilasso 
to  the  effect  that  the  Peruvians  navigated  this 
kind  of  craft  in  the  same  way  as  the  Mesopo- 
tamians. He  points  out  that  the  Changos  of 
Atacama  on  the  Chile-Peruvian  coast  still  use 
these  singular  craft.  He  also  shows  how,  in 
his  view,  the  Quechua  word  for  boat  is  derived 
from  the  Egyptian  and  Sumerian  words. 

It  is  to  be  recollected  also  that  inflated  rafts 
of  this  character  were,  and  still  are,  employed 
in  Mexico,  on  the  rivers  emptying  into  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  catamaran  is  the  native  craft  of  the 
Pacific  Islands  of  Polynesia.  Another  analogy 
is  drawn  between  the  rush  vessels  of  Mesopo- 
tamia spoken  of  by  Isaiah,  the  “vessels  of  bull- 
rushes  upon  the  waters,”  1 and  the  rush  canoes, 
junks,  or  balsas  which  were  used  by  the  early 
Peruvians,  and  are  still  a familiar  feature  to  the 
traveller  on  Lake  Titicaca.  The  Egyptians  and 
Chaldeans  used  these  craft  in  the  same  form,  and 
one  authority,2  as  is  well  known,  likened  them 
to  those  figured  on  the  tomb  of  Rameses  III. 
of  Egypt. 

The  author  before  quoted  3 draws  attention  to 
the  veneration  both  in  early  Bible  history  and 
among  the  Incas  and  pre-Incas  for  the  “ high 
places.”  It  was  the  hill  of  Huanakaure,  about 
two  and  a half  leagues  from  Cuzco,  where,  the 
legend  states,  the  golden  sceptre  of  Manco 
Capac,  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  sank  into  the 
earth  as  a sign  of  the  ordained  site  where  a 
1 Isa.  xviii.  2.  2 Castelnau. 


3 Dr.  Pablo  Patron. 


256  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


tabernacle  was  to  be  raised  by  order  of  the  Sun 
God,  and  which  became  the  principal  huaca  or 
holy  place  of  the  Incas.  He,  however,  argues 
that  this  was  a pre-Inca  institution,  and  shows 
how,  in  his  view,  the  word  Huanakaure  comes 
from  Assyrian  and  Sumerian  words  meaning 
“ mountain-creator.” 

There  is  indeed  much  in  fact,  lore,  and 
legend  concerning  the  early  Peruvians  which 
transports  us  to  the  ancient  cradles  of  civilisa- 
tion on  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile.  There  are 
subtle  breaths  and  whispers  which  have  come 
down  through  the  ages,  and  which  may  yet  con- 
ceivably be  wrought  into  some  clear  voice  of 
history,  when  intensive  thought  and  loving  study 
shall  have  waked  them  from  neglect  and  slumber. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN 

A speculative  voyage  — Stepping-stones  to  Asia  — Easter 
Island,  and  others — Great  stone  images — The  “wicked 
giants  ” of  Genesis — Possible  connection  with  Peru  and 
Mexico — With  Polynesia  — Great  stone  houses  — The 
archaic  Noah — Size  of  the  Colossi — Other  remains — 
Tablets  and  hieroglyphs — Analogy  with  Tiahuanako  and 
Bolivia — Are  they  phallic  emblems  ? — Log  of  the  Flora — 
Dimensions  of  the  images. 


We  have  completed  our  survey,  so  far,  of  the 
great  regions  of  early  American  culture  : which 
way  does  our  path  lie  now?  Consciously  or  un- 
consciously we  have  been  looking  to  the  West, 
but  it  is  with  some  diffidence  that  we  shall 
adventure  forth  to  follow  those  threads  of  specu- 
lative imagination  which  seem  to  conduct  us 
across  the  great  Pacific  towards  the  continent  of 
Asia. 

Yet,  like  great  stepping-stones  upon  this  path, 
thousands  of  miles  apart,  are  lonely  islands, 
strung  out  thinly  between  the  New  World  and 
the  Old,  containing  the  ruins  of  strange  monu- 
ments and  structures  of  unknown  builders,  some 
of  them  absolutely  unexplainable,  almost  appal- 
ling— like  those  especially  of  Easter  Island — in 
their  weirdness  and  peculiarity.  The  suggestion 
has  been  made  from  time  to  time  and  by  differ- 
ent observers,  that  these  far-scattered  relics  of 

17  257 


258  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


prehistoric  stone-shaping  man,  extending  west- 
ward into  Polynesia  and  towards  Asia,  may  be 
connected  in  some  way  with  the  builders  of  the 
megalithic  structures  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and 
that  must  be  our  excuse  for  endeavouring  to 
reach  the  Asiatic  coast  from  America  by  the 
route  of  these  mysterious  islands. 

These  island  remains  are  principally  those  of 
Easter  Island,  Pitcairn  Island,  Tahiti,  the 
Marquesas,  Tonga  or  Friendly  Islands,  Lele 
and  Ponape,  of  the  Caroline  Islands,  and  the 
Marianas  or  Ladrones. 

Some  of  these  remote  islands  have  been  the 
scene  of  very  extensive  work  by  wall-building 
man,  the  vestiges  of  whose  activities  are  no  less 
curious  than  those  already  considered  on  the 
American  continents. 

To  begin  with  Easter  Island  or  Rapanui, 
which  lies  two  thousand  miles  west  of  the  South 
American  coast  of  Peru  and  Chile,  to  which 
latter  republic  it  belongs,  and  fourteen  hundred 
miles  east  of  Pitcairn  Island.  What  shall  be 
said  of  colossal  stone  images  standing  in  rows 
facing  the  sea  on  this  lonely  land  surrounded  by 
the  trackless,  glittering  ocean  on  every  side  ? 
colossal  images,  the  only  explanation  of  whose 
fashioning  is  the  fanciful  one  that  they  were 
made  by  a race  of  wicked  giants,  for  whose 
punishment  the  Flood  was  brought  about  ! 

“ For  there  were  giants  in  those  days,”  1 or 
at  least  we  are  so  told  on  the  authority  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  singular  theory  has  been  advanced 
1 Gen.  vi.  4. 


EASTER  ISLAND,  STATUES  FACING  CRATER  LAKE. 


EASTER  ISLAND  STATUES. 


To  face  p.  258. 


AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN  259 


that  these  great,  hideous  images  were  set  up 
by  them. 

The  great  images  of  Easter  Island  are  carved 
out  of  a grey,  trachitic  lava,  quarried  in  the 
island  at  some  distance  from  their  position,  and 
some  of  them  are  estimated  to  weigh  up  to  250 
tons  each.  How  were  they  cut  and  sculptured, 
and  how  were  they  moved  from  the  quarry  ? 
We  must  ask  the  Pacific  winds  and  waves  ; for 
the  only  theory  or  fancy,  whichever  it  may  be, 
is  that  these  images  are  a relic  of  antediluvian 
days,  of  the  world  before  the  time  of  the  archaic 
Noah.  It  has  even  been  stated  that  there  is 
evidence  that  a race  of  giants  inhabited  the  island 
and  that  they  were  destroyed  by  some  cataclysm, 
for  it  is  demonstrable  that  the  statue-builders 
were  interrupted  in  their  work. 

The  largest  of  these  colossi  is  70  feet  high.  A 
smaller  image,  8 feet  in  height  and  weighing 
four  tons,  is  in  the  British  Museum,  brought  home 
years  ago  by  a British  warship.  The  illustration 
showing  a man  on  horseback  beside  one  of  the 
figures  on  the  island  gives  an  idea  of  relative 
size,  and  the  grim  row  of  mighty  stony  visages 
and  half -human  trunks  on  the  slope  of  the  hill 
facing  the  extinct  crater  lake,  like  some  arrested 
sentinels  of  the  childhood  of  the  world,  strikes 
deep  into  the  imagination. 

The  features  of  these  images  and  the  expres- 
sion of  their  faces  are  said  by  some  observers 
to  be  unlike  any  known  type  among  the 
Polynesian  peoples  at  the  present  time.  Indeed, 
the  prehistoric  remains  which  occur  on  this  and 


260  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


other  islands  of  the  oceanic  region  involves  one 
of  the  most  perplexing  problems  concerning 
mankind  in  early  times  in  the  whole  world. 

The  stone  images  are  not  the  only  wonder- 
ful archaeological  remains  on  Easter  Island. 
Immense  platforms  of  large,  flat  stones  are 
found,  then  joints  fitted  together  without  mortar, 
generally  built  facing  the  sea  upon  slopes  and 
headlands.  The  sea -faces  of  some  of  these 
structures  are  nearly  30  feet  high,  200  to  300 
feet  long,  and  30  feet  wide,  whilst  some  of  the 
squared  blocks  of  stone  are  6 feet  long.  Huge 
stone  pedestals  exist  on  the  land  side  of  these 
platforms  on  a broad  terrace,  upon  which  once 
stood  colossal  stone  images  carved  somewhat  into 
the  shape  of  a human  trunk.  On  some  of  the 
platforms  there  are  upwards  of  a dozen  images, 
now  thrown  from  their  pedestals  and  lying  in 
all  directions.  Their  usual  height  is  from  14 
to  16  feet,  but  the  largest  are  37  feet,  while 
some  are  only  about  4 feet.  The  top  of  the 
heads  of  the  images  is  cut  flat  to  receive 
round  crowns  made  of  a reddish,  vesicular 
tuff,  found  at  a crater  about  eight  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  quarry  where  the  images  were 
cut.  A number  of  these  crowns  still  lie  at  the 
crater  apparently  ready  for  removal,  some  of  the 
largest  being  over  10  feet  in  diameter. 

In  addition  to  the  images,  there  exist  in  one 
part  of  the  island  4he  remains  of  stone  houses 
nearly  100  feet  long  by  20  feet  wide.  Their 
walls  are  built  in  courses  of  large  flat  stones 
without  mortar,  and  are  about  5 feet  thick  and 


GIANT  STATUE  ON  EASTER  ISLAND. 


To  face  p.  260. 


AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN  261 


over  5 feet  high,  lined  on  the  inside  with  upright 
slabs,  painted  with  geometrical  figures  and  repre- 
sentations of  animals.  The  roofs  are  formed 
by  placing  slabs  so  that  each  course  overlaps 
the  lower  one  until  the  opening  becomes  about 
5 feet  wide,  when  it  is  covered  with  flat  slabs 
reaching  from  one  side  to  the  other. 

The  lava  rocks  near  these  curious  houses  are 
carved  into  the  resemblance  of  various  animals 
and  human  faces,  forming  probably  a kind  of 
picture-writing.  Wooden  tablets  covered  with 
signs  and  figures  have  also  been  found.  “ There 
are  hieroglyphics  chiselled  on  the  faces  of  the 
tombs  and  on  the  crater  walls,  lines  of  curiously 
carved  shapes  and  symbols,  among  which  the 
shape  of  a fish  constantly  appears,  and  carvings 
which  bear  a remarkable  resemblance  to  those  of 
the  ancient  Aymaras  of  Peru.”  1 

But  how  were  these  great  works  of  sculpture 
made?  The  only  ancient  implement  discovered 
on  the  island  is  a kind  of  stone  chisel,  but  it 
seems  impossible  that  the  work  could  have  been 
executed  with  such  tools.  Indeed,  the  whole 
subject  is  shrouded  in  mystery,  and  the  present 
inhabitants  of  this  small,  remote  Pacific  island 
in  the  109th  meridian  W.  and  the  27th  parallel 
know  absolutely  nothing  of  the  construction  of 
these  remarkable  works  which  surround  them, 
although  they  have  some  legends  about  their 
own  origin.  These  traditions  are  that  they  came 
from  other  islands  in  two  large  canoes,  in  remote 
times,  their  king,  Hotu  Metua,  or  “ Prolific 
1 From  an  account  published  in  the  London  press  in  1906. 


262  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Father,”  in  the  one  and  their  queen  in  the  other  ; 
and  when  they  arrived  they  termed  the  land  Te 
Pito  F.enua— that  is,  “ The  Land  in  the  Midst  of 
the  Sea.”  These  doubtless  were  Polynesians,  who 
were  wonderful  voyagers. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  fish  carvings 
may  indicate  that  these  early  immigrants  held 
sacred  some  fish-god,  somewhat  as  in  the  case 
of  the  early  Peruvians.  It  is  to  be  recollected 
that  the  large  stone  statue  of  Tiahuanako,  near 
the  Peru-Bolivia  boundary,  has  a fish  sculptured 
on  its  breast,  as  described  before.  Dr.  Alfred 
Russel  Wallace,  in  a letter  1 bearing  upon  this 
subject  which  he  wrote  me,  speaks  of  “ the  re- 
semblance of  human  sculptures  on  some  of  the 
earliest  stone  buildings  of  Bolivia  with  the  Easter 
Island  statue  in  the  British  Museum.”  This 
statue,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  brought  to 
England  some  forty  years  ago  by  H.M.S. 
Topaze.  “ I was  greatly  struck  by  the  resem- 
blance,” he  says,  “ and  in  the  drawing  of  the 
large  gateway  in  Bolivia  there  are  figures  whose 
features  resemble  the  very  peculiar  features  of 
the  Easter  Island  monuments,  and  have  a very 
curious  Caucasian  aspect.” 

To  me,  this  grim  idol,  standing  in  the  murky, 
untrodden  colonnade  of  the  British  Museum, 
has  somewhat  the  aspect  of  a gigantic  negro. 
In  some  respects  it  is  well  sculptured,  and  there 
is  a singular  device  upon  its  back.  The  fellow 
image  is  much  smaller  and  dilapidated. 

What  can  be  the  significance  of  these  grim 
1 December,  1911. 


STONE  STATUES  OF  EASTER  ISLAND. 


To  face  p.  262. 


. 


AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN  263 


statues?  No  people  could  have  erected  them 
out  of  mere  caprice.  Is  it  possible  that  they 
had  any  phallic  1 significance  and  were  erected 
by  the  “ Prolific  Father  ” of  the  legend,  or  by 
the  wicked  giants,  or  the  “ Sons  of  God  ” 
spoken  of  in  Genesis  in  commemoration  of  their 
amours  with  the  “ daughters  of  men  ” in  that 
extraordinary  account  ? This,  however,  is  but 
a fancy. 

The  island  was  visited  in  July,  1906,  by 
H.M.S.  Cambrian  and  Flora,  and  the  Admiralty 
kindly  sent  me  an  extract  from  the  log  of  the 
latter  vessel,  in  which  the  commanding  officer 
wrote  as  follows  : — 

“ The  images  on  the  platforms,  of  which  Cook 
and  La  Perouse  wrote,  have  all  fallen  down 
and  been  broken,  but  many  are  still  standing, 
at  the  base,  up  the  side,  and  inside  the  crater 
of  Mount  Hoty-iti,  from  which  they  are  cut  out  ; 
these,  however,  have  no  crowns  ; the  crowns  of 
the  fallen  images  are  lying  near  them. 

“ I measured  the  largest  image  cut  out  of  the 
rock,  lying  on  its  back,  and  the  back  not  yet 
detached  from  the  stone  of  the  hill  : — 


Total  length 

Ft. 

...  68 

In. 

0 

Total  width 

...  10 

O 

Length  of  nose  

...  11 

3 

Width  of  lip 

•••  5 

7 

From  lip  to  chin  

...  7 

3 

Chin  projects  from  neck  ... 

•••  3 

0 

Length  of  ear  

...  12 

2 

Height  of  forehead 

...  6 

0 

Width  

...  9 

6 

* See  p.  325. 


264  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


“ The  illustrations  of  the  images  in  ‘ La 
Perouse’s  Voyages  ’ are  very  good ; those  in 
Cook’s  do  not  at  all  do  them  justice. 

“ The  stone  houses,  in  appearance  like  in- 
verted canoes,  mentioned  by  La  Perouse,  have 
entirely  disappeared,  but  there  are  stone  huts 
on  the  south-west  edge  of  the  summit  of  the 
volcano  Ranakao  built  out  of  layers  of  basaltic 
rock  ; interior  dimensions,  i 5 feet  by  8 feet  by 
6 feet  high,  but  with  the  entrance  so  low  it  is 
only  possible  to  crawl  in  on  the  stomach.  Near 
these  huts  are  inscriptions  on  the  rocks,  and 
some  of  them  have  hieroglyphics  on  some  of  the 
stones  forming  their  sides.  Captain  Cook  men- 
tions as  a peculiarity  that  the  natives  drank  sea- 
water. A previous  manager  to  the  present  one 
began  building  a wall  right  around  the  island 
to  prevent  the  sheep  getting  to  the  sea,  as  he 
thought  they  drank  it  and  that  it  would  be  harm- 
ful ; as  a matter  of  fact,  at  various  places  on 
the  seashore  there  are  fresh -water  springs  at  sea- 
level,  uncovering  at  half-tide,  and  no  doubt  both 
natives  and  sheep  were  aware  of  this  and  drank 
fresh,  not  salt,  water. 

“ Most  of  the  image  platforms  are  more  or 
less  broken,  but  the  facings  of  huge  stones 
remain,  and  under  these  morais  may  be  found 
skeletons  and  flint  spearheads,  &c. 

“ The  red  tuff  crowns  of  the  images  do  not 
look  as  though  they  were  cut  out  of  rock,  and 
I was  told  there  is  no  similar  rock  to  be  found 
on  the  island — they  look  as  though  they  were 
made  of  red  volcanic  clay  and  sun-dried. 


CAKVEI)  HEADS  OE  GIANTS,  EASTER  ISLAND. 


AN  ENIGMA  OF  THE  OCEAN  265 


“ Fish,  and  sea  crayfish  or  spiny  lobster,  are 
fairly  plentiful. 

“Partridge  (Chilian)  are  numerous  on  the 
island ; they  are  not  in  coveys,  and  both  in 
feather  and  habits  seem  akin  to  Californian 
quail.  Tame  cats  run  wild  are  the  only  wild 
beasts,  except  the  cattle  which  on  the  north  and 
north-east  of  the  island  are  practically  quite 
wild. 

“ From  the  positions  at  which  the  platforms 
with  the  images  were  placed,  namely,  overlooking 
coast  indentations  where  there  were  possible 
landings,  it  seems  probable  that  though  these 
images  may  have  been  memorials  to  the  dead, 
they  were  also  intended  to  intimidate  the  living 
and  frighten  any  strangers  away  from  the  island. 

“ The  anchorage  of  Ovinipoo  is  in  17  fathoms, 
half  a mile  from  the  shore,  and  well  protected 
from  any  winds  but  SSW.  to  ESE.  ; the  boats 
can  get  into  a small  cove,  protected  by  an  outer 
ridge  of  rock,  for  landing  passengers,  but  the 
climb  up  the  rocks  is  awkward.” 

The  question  as  to  what,  if  any,  relation  the 
stone-shaping  art  of  the  unknown  people  of 
Easter  Island  had  with  that  of  the  early  Peru- 
vians is  one  which  doubtless  will  come  up  for 
consideration  in  the  future.  It  has  been  said 
that  if  the  story  written  in  these  hieroglyphics  of 
Easter  Island  could  be  read  the  veil  might  be 
lifted  which  shrouds  the  mystery  of  the  early 
people  of  the  Andes. 

Easter  Island,  however,  is  singularly  remote, 
and  few  travellers  reach  it.  The  present  in- 


266  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


habitants  grow  bananas,  sugar-cane,  &'c.,  and 
keep  a few  goats.  They  number  about  one 
hundred,  and  are  all  Christianised,  as  the  result 
of  a Jesuit  Mission  in  1864.  There  is  at  least 
one  link  with  Peru,  in  that  the  Peruvians,  in 
1863  barbarously  kidnapped  and  carried  off  a 
large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  to  work  in 
the  guano  diggings  on  the  Chincha  Islands  off 
the  Peruvian  coast.  Guano,  like  rubber  and 
gold,  has  not  failed  to  take  its  toll  of  hutnan 
lives. 

Easter  Island  does  not  stand  alone  in  its 
mystery.  There  are,  as  already  stated,  other 
works  of  unknown  hands,  equally  remarkable,  as 
will  be  described  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHARTER  XV 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES 

Strange  migrations  — The  Polynesians  and  others  — The 
Papuans  and  Malaysians — Mystery  of  their  origin — The 
Caucasians — Origin  of  the  Polynesians — Clever  navi- 
gators— Original  home — Long  sea  journeys — Polynesian 
ship-builders  — Mythology  — Decline  — Character  — 
Pitcairn  Island — Tahiti — The  Marquesas — Affinity  with 
early  America — Stone  images — Stone  platforms — Art — 
Tonga  Islands — Megalithic  remains — Caroline  Islands — 
Lele  and  Ponape — Astonishing  prehistoric  structures — 
Metalanim — A Pacific  Venice — Yap  and  other  remains 
— Great  basalt  prisms — Metalanim  harbour — Lele — The 
breakwater — The  Marianas — Stone  structures. 

The  Oceanic  isles  of  the  Pacific  undoubtedly  have 
been  in  remote  times  the  scene  of  some  of  the 
most  remarkable  migrations  by  water  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  Unsolved  problems  of 
emigrating  and  navigating  races,  black  and 
brown,  with  whispers  of  sunken  continents  and 
severed  archipelagoes,  form  the  romance  of 
these  regions. 

These  widely  separated  islands  have  been 
peopled  by  three  different  peoples,  the  Melane- 
sians, the  Polynesians,  and  the  Micronesians, 
forming  two  distinct  divisions  of  mankind — the 
dark  and  the  brown  races.  The  Melanesians 

267 


268  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


sometimes  go  by  the  name  of  Papuans,  the  Malay 
name  for  the  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea,  the 
principal  home  of  the  race.  These  people  are 
physically  of  negroid  type,  nearly  black,  with  flat 
noses,  thick  lips,  and  curly  hair,  and  are  regarded 
as  the  aborigines  of  Oceania,  and  constitute  the 
oldest  ethnic  stock.  They  agree  with  the  African 
negroes,  and  have  a more  or  less  remote  con- 
nection with  them.  How  these  negroids  came 
to  occupy  the  oceanic  region  is  a mystery.  How 
did  they  reach  these  isolated  Pacific  Isles?  For 
it  is  a remarkable  fact,  which  makes  their 
colonising  all  the  more  mysterious,  that  the 
blacks  are  unskilful  sailors. 

The  Polynesians,  the  brown  people,  on  the 
contrary,  were  clever  navigators,  and  there  is 
evidence  of  their  wanderings  and  canoe  voyages. 

Whilst  it  is  held  as  certain  that  Polynesians 
are  an  older  ethnic  stock  than  their  black  neigh- 
bours, they  nevertheless  must  have  migrated  to 
the  Pacific  Islands  at  much  later  periods  than 
the  Malays  or  Papuans  and  their  sub -families  ; 
and  the  view  generally  adopted  is  that  they  repre- 
sent a branch  of  the  Caucasic  division  of  man- 
kind, who  at  some  very  remote  period,  perhaps 
in  the  new  Stone  Age,  migrated  from  the 
mainland  of  Asia. 

This  migration  appears  to  have  proceeded 
via  the  Malay  Archipelago,  those  “ desirable 
islands  ” which  have  formed  the  theatre  of  action 
of  many  roving  peoples,  and  which  at  some  early 
time  of  man’s  history  on  the  earth  were  probably 
connected  by  land-bridges  with  each  other.  The 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  269 


first  inhabitants  of  these  islands  were  probably, 
the  black  woolly-haired  race,  the  Papuans,  who 
gradually  colonised  the  Eastern  Pacific. 

The  Polynesians  are  of  a light  brown  colour, 
tall  and  well  proportioned,  with  regular  and  often 
beautiful  features,  and  in  some  cases  are  the 
physical  equals  of  Europeans — or  at  least  this  is 
the  case  in  Samoa  and  the  Marquesas.  Although 
both  the  brown  and  the  black  peoples  living  here 
had,  in  all  probability,  Asiatic  ancestors  in 
common,  the  Polynesian  is  to-day  as  he  has  ever 
been,  a distinct  race.  Dr.  Wallace,  the  great 
authority  upon  this  subject,  informed  me  as  his 
opinion  that  there  must  have  been  “ a stream 
of  migration  from  East  tropical  Asia,  where 
remnants  of  Caucasian  races  still  exist,  and 
these,  intermixed  perhaps  with  some  Malay 
tribes,  produced  the  fine  Mahories  of  Samoa,  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  New  Zealand.” 

No  doubt,  in  fact,  is  felt  as  to  this  migration, 
but  the  first  advent  of  the  Polynesian  people 
into  the  Pacific  must  have  occurred  in  times  so 
remote  that  it  cannot  be  fixed  even  by  tradition. 
To  cover  such  vast  distances  their  migrations 
must  have  been  made  in  stages,  and,  as  stated, 
the  earliest  halting-place  was  in  Malaysia,  where 
some  of  their  kind  still  remain  on  the  west  coast 
of  Sumatra,  from  which  point  they  extended  east- 
wardly.  It  is  held  that  the  absence  of  Sanskrit 
roots  in  the  Polynesian  languages  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  migration  of  these  Caucasians 
was  in  pre-Sanskritic  times. 

But  whilst  no  one  has  yet  ventured  to  approxi- 


270  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


mate  a definite  date  for  these  early  movements, 
the  history  of  the  Hawaians,  or  Sandwich 
Islanders,  has  been  traced  to  the  fifth  century, 
and  from  this  it  is  adduced  that  their  departure 
from  Malaysia  or  the  Indian  Archipelago 
may  be  put  at  the  first  or  second  century. 
Savaii,  the  largest  of  the  Samoan  Islands,  is 
by  tradition  assigned  as  the  Polynesian  ancestral 
home  in  the  East  Pacific,  and  this  is  supported  by 
linguistic  and  other  evidence.  From  this  point 
the  Polynesians,  or  the  various  branches  of  the 
race,  must  have  made  their  way  in  all  directions. 

Of  all  the  people  so  far  considered  in  these 
islands  or  continents  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the 
Polynesians  were  the  principal  navigators.  Their 
migrations  by  sea,  were  they  fully  known,  might 
furnish  material  for  romantic  adventure  second 
to  none,  and,  indeed,  the  journeyings  of  their 
known  history  are  of  great  interest  and  have 
been  well  described  by  various  authors.1  It  is 
certain  that  their  skill  in  building  vessels  and 
their  dexterity  as  navigators  has  declined  since 
the  white  man  from  Europe  associated  with  them. 
Rather  than  increasing  their  knowledge  and 
powers  from  European  seafaring  nations  in  such 
matters,  they  appear  to  have  lost  it.  Formerly 
they  built  decked  vessels  of  planks,  caulked  and 
pitched — seaworthy  craft  capable  of  making 
voyages  with  one  or  two  hundred  persons  and  the 
necessary  stores.  They  had  a knowledge  of  the 
stars,  and  were  able  to  direct  their  course 
thereby.  And  thus  it  was  that  they  journeyed 
1 Especially  “ Journeyings  of  the  Polynesians.” 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  271 


so  far  from  the  Indian  Archipelago,  taking 
advantage  of  westerly  winds  at  certain  seasons, 
which  enabled  them  to  overcome  the  obstacles 
of  prevailing  easterly  winds  and  currents. 

The  Polynesians  were  not  a savage  race  when 
they  entered  the  Pacific,  but,  as  their  elaborate 
historical  legends  show,  possessed  a considerable 
civilisation,  from  which  to-day  they  have  de- 
teriorated. They  were  strict  in  their  barbaric 
religious  observances,  which  came  into  the  acts 
of  their  every-day  life.  They  were  polytheists, 
but  had  a conception  of  a god  of  a high  order 
— Tangaloa — regarded  as  “ the  first  and  principal 
god,  uncreated  and  existing  from  the  beginning, 
or  from  the  time  he  emerged  from  the  world  of 
darkness.”  He  was  said  to  be  “ the  father  of 
all  the  gods  and  creator  of  all  things,”  but  was 
not  considered  an  object  of  worship.  As  to 
their  ideas  of  immortality,  the  Polynesians  in- 
variably believe  in  the  existence  of  the  spirit 
of  man  after  the  death  of  the  body.”  In  some 
islands  idols,  bearing  more  or  less  resemblance 
to  the  human  shape,  were  made.  Sometimes 
large  stone  enclosures  or  a grove  were  made 
around  them. 

We  are  reminded,  in  these  vague  conceptions 
of  a Creator,  of  the  “ Unknown  God  ” of  the 
Mexicans  and  the  Peruvians  once  more.  The 
Polynesians  had  the  same  cannibalistic  custom 
as  the  Aztecs,  of  eating  a portion  of  a slain 
enemy,  for  reasons  of  triumph  or  religion.  Like 
the  early  American  people,  they  have  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  European  civilisation,  in  strong 


272  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


drinks,  the  too  sudden  adoption  of  European 
clothing,  and  the  “ deadening  effects  of  a sombre 
type  of  Christianity,  in  which  over-zealous  mis- 
sionaries suppressed  the  dances  and  free,  joyous 
life  of  pagan  times.”  Thus  they  decreased 
rapidly,  although  greater  toleration  of  late  has, 
in  places,  arrested  the  decline,  and,  says  a recent 
authority,  perhaps  the  “ noblest  of  all  primitive 
races — Maoris,  Samoans,  Tahitians — may  yet  be 
saved  to  fill  their  place  in  civilisation.” 

Observers  generally  speak  very  highly  of  the 
Polynesians.  “ Several  South  Sea  Island  races 
are  not  now  savage  in  any  sense,  except  as  to 
rarity  of  trousers  and  absence  of  novels,  and 
never  deserved  that  epithet  in  its  sense  of  fero- 
cious. There  is  no  finer  people  on  earth  than 
the  Tongans  and  the  closely  related  and  but 
slightly  less  vigorous  Samoans.  The  physical 
beauty  of  both  sexes  is  paralleled  by  their  in- 
tellectual development.  The  grace  of  manner 
and  general  dignity  of  bearing  habitual  with 
members  of  chiefly  families  could  not  be  sur- 
passed in  the  most  polished  of  European  Courts. 
The  contrast  in  these  respects  between  the  natives 
of  high  birth  and  the  proselytising  and  trading 
white  men  who  come  to  4 civilise  ’ them  cannot 
escape  the  notice  of  the  least  observant.  They, 
are  as  passionately  attached  to  their  independence 
as  the  Swiss  or  the  Netherlanders  ever  were  to 
theirs.  There  is  much  that  is  most  attractive 
in  the  kindly  communism  of  the  island  tribes, 
and  not  a little  that  is  economically  sound. 
When  a civilised  nation  takes  over  the  adminis- 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  273 


tration  of  some  group  of  islands,  there  is  in- 
gratitude as  well  as  impolicy  in  ignoring  the 
fact  that  the  institutions  of  the  natives  have 
provided  the  new  Government  with  a ready-made 
system  of  poor  relief.  The  question  of  old-age 
pensions  had  been  settled  by  the  islanders  long 
before  white  men  came  amongst  them.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  be  informed  by  authorities  on 
economics  where  co-operative  agriculture  has 
reached  a more  effective  development  than  it 
has  in  some  South  Sea  Islands.”  1 

There  is  much  of  interest  in  these  matters  of 
social  economy  among  people  whom  we  have  too 
often  termed  41  savages  ” ; and  the  way  in  which 
they  made  use  of  natural  resources,  land,  water, 
&c.,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Incas  of  Peru,  is, 
I submit,  certainly  worthy  of  study  by  the  indus- 
trial communities  of  to-day.  How  some  of  these 
gentle,  courteous  little  kingships  and  queenships 
gave  place  to  the  blatant  dominion  of  modern 
commercial  people  brings  to  my  mind  the  re- 
semblance of  poor  Queen  Liliuokalani  of  Hawaii 
and  her  pathetic  pilgrimage  to  the  United  States. 
I was  in  San  Francisco  at  the  time,  and  well 
remember  the  outpourings  of  the  yellow  journals 
on  the  subject. 

The  author  last  quoted  says  : 44  To  even  a 

callous  heart  there  must  be  something  shocking 
in  the  case  of  the  gracious,  kindly,  and  intelli- 
gent Samoans  serving  as  the  shuttlecocks  of  rival 
gangs  of  money-makers  in  a hurry  to  grow  rich. 

1 Sir  Cyprian  Bridge,  in  his  Introduction  to  “ The  Caroline 
Islands,”  Christian,  London,  1899. 

18 


274  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Belisarius  begging  for  an  obolus  was  not  a more 
piteous  spectacle  than  Malietoa  Laupepa,  with 
his  seven  hundred  years  of  chiefly  pedigree, 
accepting  a dole  of  salted  pork.” 

The  foregoing  does  not  pretend  to  be  more 
than  a very  brief  sketch  of  the  black  and  brown 
people  of  Oceania,  the  Melanesians  and  Poly- 
nesians, sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  region  where  to-day  still  exist 
the  remains  of  the  stone  structures  we  have  now 
to  observe.  There  is  a great  deal  of  interesting 
literature  about  the  Polynesians,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  even  fuller  investigations  about  them 
will  be  made  before  they  disappear,  if  such  is 
the  destiny  before  them,  as  prophesied  by  some 
writers. 

Leaving  these  considerations,  however,  we  shall 
now  visit  the  various  island  groups  which  lie 
between  America  and  Asia,  after  leaving  Easter 
Island.  The  first,  as  far  as  the  purpose  of  this 
book  is  concerned,  is  Pitcairn  Island,  the  nearest 
point  in  Polynesia  which  we  reach,  going  westward 
from  Easter  Island  some  1,400  miles,  and  lying 
in  latitude  130°  6'  W.  Pitcairn  Island  belongs  to 
Great  Britain,  and  is  famous  in  connection  with 
the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty.  It  is  a beautiful 
island,  but  rises  abruptly  from  the  water  with 
steep  cliffs  of  basaltic  lava,  without  coral  for- 
mation. It  was  discovered  in  1767.  The  matters 
of  prehistoric  interest  on  the  island  are  chiefly 
in  the  remains  of  carved  stone  pillars  or  images 
of  a somewhat  similar  character  to  those  of 
Easter  Island,  and  the  same  problem  remains 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  275 


unanswered  as  to  who  were  their  sculptors.. 
Stone  axes  also  are  found  in  the  soil,  and 
“ skeletons  with  a pearl-mussel  beneath  the 
head.”  The  people  living  on  the  island, 
descendants  of  the  mutineers,  Polynesians,  and 
others,  govern  themselves — as  a British  colony — 
by  a Council  chosen  among  themselves. 

Another  1,400  miles  to  the  north-west  takes 
us  to  Tahiti,  of  the  French  Society  Islands, 
1 490  30'  W.,  among  whose  customs  and  struc- 
tures we  might  easily  halt  a while  in  the 
pursuance  of  our  theme.  We  read  that  the 
natives  of  Tahiti  buried  their  chiefs  in  the 
temples ; their  embalmed  bodies,  after  being 
exposed,  were  interred  in  a crouching  position. 
Mention  is  made  of  a pyramidal  stone  structure, 
on  which  were  the  actual  altars,  which  stood  at 
the  farther  end  of  one  of  the  squares.  In  the 
great  temple  at  Atahura  the  stone  structure  was 
270  feet  long,  94  feet  wide,  and  50  feet  high, 
and  its  summit  was  reached  by  a flight  of  steps 
built  of  hewn  coral  and  basalt.  “ Sacrificial 
offerings,  including  human  sacrifices,  formed  a 
prominent  part  of  Tahitian  worship.  The 
images,  which  are  less  remarkable  than  those 
of  Hawaii,  were  rough  representations  of  the 
human  form  carved  in  wood.”  There  is  a whiff 
of  early  Mexico  about  this,  its  stone  altars  and 
bloody  priestcraft. 

A thousand  miles  or  more  to  the  north  of  Pit- 
cairn and  of  Tahiti  lie  the  Marquesas,  tropic 
islands  far  out  of  the  track  of  the  ordinary 
traveller. 


276  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


A recent  writer  1 considers  that  there  may  have 
been  some  connection  between  the  people  of  the 
Marquesas  and  those  of  early  America,  but  he 
does  not  give  any  particular  evidence  in  support 
of  the  theory.  Some  native  decorative  work  per- 
haps seems  analogous.  He  says  : “ The  Mar- 
quesan  legends  reflect  a strange,  gloomy  cast 
of  thought.  Many  of  their  rites,  costumes, 
dances,  and  customs  would  seem  to  argue  an 
intermixture  with  the  red  races  of  America, 
possibly  with  some  of  the  tribes  of  Mayapan  and 
Yucatan.  ...  A thorough  study  of  Maori  and 
Marquesan  tattoo  signs  might  supply  a clue  to 
the  origin  of  the  Hydah  carvings  of  British 
Columbia  and  Vancouver  Island,  and  even  of  the 
mysterious  writings  and  sculptures  of  Palenque 
and  Chichen  Itza,  and  thus  throw  light  on  the 
annals  and  histories  of  the  buried  cities  of 
Yucatan.  ...  In  this  connection  I will  go 
farther  still,  and  remark  that  in  my  opinion  the 
terraces  and  statues  of  Easter  Island,  the  Peru- 
vian buildings  of  Caxamalca  and  Titicaca,  the 
ruins  of  Angkor-Thom  in  Cambodia,  of  Bram- 
banam,  Boro  Bodo,  and  Modjo-pahit  on  Java, 
the  Passumali  monoliths  of  Sumatra,  the  great 
island-Venice  of  Metalanim  or  Ponape,  the 
canals  and  Cyclopean  walls  of  Lele,  and  the 
Langi  and  Druidical  Hamonga  of  Tongatabu, 
may  be  all,  to  use  a homely  expression,  ‘ pieces 
of  the  same  puzzle.’  ” 

The  natives  of  the  Marquesas  are  a pure 
Polynesian  race,  usually  described  as  physically 

1 ‘‘Eastern  Pacific  Islands,”  Christian,  London,  1911. 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  277 


the  finest  of  all  South  Sea  Islanders.  Their 
traditions  point  to  Samoa  as  the  colonising  centre 
from  which  they  sprang.  Their  complexion  is  a 
healthy  bronze.  Their  houses  are  unlike  those 
usual  in  Polynesia,  in  being  built  on  platforms 
raised  from  the  ground. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  recollect  that 
the  “ red  ” race  of  America,  North  and  South, 
is  not  “ red.”  The  Indians  of  America  are 
brown  ; there  is  no  subdivision  of  mankind  really 
which  is  “ red.”  The  Indians  of  Arizona  and 
California,  equally  with  those  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  are  not  red,  and  might  well  be  described 
as  a “ healthy  bronze.” 

The  houses  of  the  people  in  Hiva-oa,  in  the 
Marquesas,  are  curiously  built,  and  are  described 
as  follows  by  the  last-quoted  writer  : “ We  go 
past  deserted  paepaes,  or  stone  platforms,  and 
paepaes  as  yet  undeserted.  One  remarkable 
native  house  attracts  our  attention.  The  platform 
stands  about  7 feet  high,  with  several  massive 
blocks  of  basalt,  curiously  carved,  set  into  its 
centre  as  it  faces  the  road.  On  one  of  these 
a gigantic  fish-hook  is  sculptured  in  relief  : it 
is  the  emblem  of  Tuha,  God  of  Fishes  and 
Fisheries.  Nowadays  the  natives  build  their 
houses  somewhat  carelessly,  but  the  principle  of 
the  underlying  stone  platform  remains  the  same. 
Some  of  the  more  ancient  paepaes  must  have 
cost  tremendous  labour,  built  as  they  are  of 
dozens  and  dozens  of  ponderous  basalt  blocks 
laid  together  with  the  utmost  nicety.  They  built 
mightily  in  Hiva-Oa  of  old.  I have  noted  a 


278  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


somewhat  similar  style  of  house-building  upon 
the  island  of  Ponape,  the  inhabitants  of  which 
show  indisputable  traces  of  a Polynesian 
mixture.” 

It  is  stated  that  the  upper  part  of  the  vale 
is  “ thickly  studded  with  massive  paepae  or  stone 
platforms,  showing  clear  evidence  of  the  numbers 
and  enterprise  of  the  vanished  children  of  the 
soil,  whom  tradition  declares  to  have  been 
the  fiercest  and  most  warlike  of  the  clans  of  the 

island Far  up  in  the  valley,  near  the 

residence  of  the  local  queen,  is  an  old  sacred 
enclosure,  a most  interesting  relic  of  a grey 
antiquity,  within  which,  surrounded  by  a devil 
copse  of  coffee  shrubs,  planted  of  late  years, 
stand  two  giant  stone  figures,  the  statues  of 
Taka-li  and  his  wife,  a monarch  of  might,  when 
the  Pahatai,  the  ‘ Peo'ple  of  the  Beach,’  were  a 
powerful  clan,  about  the  time  of  the  great  migra- 
tion from  Hiva-oa  to  Tahuata  Island  by  the  sons 
of  Nuku,  some  forty  generations  ago.”  1 

In  the  illustration,  from  a photograph,  given 
in  the  above  work  it  is  stated  that  the  statue  is 
about  8 feet  in  height.  Possibly  it  may  be  that 
all  these  rude  stone  images  and  idols  bear  a 
certain  resemblance  to  each  other,  but  there  is 
an  air  about  this  image  which  seems  reminis- 
cent of  the  stone  figures  of  Tiahuanako,  on  the 
Andean  highlands  of  Titicaca.  In  the  Mar- 
quesas we  have  the  same  conditions  of  a decaying 
race  as  in  the  Andes.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 
in  his  writings  draws  a mournful  picture  of  the 
1 “ Eastern  Pacific  Islands/’  ante. 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  279 


decay  of  the  Marquesas  Islanders,  and  it  is  held 
that  it  is  due  to  the  physical  and  moral  retribu- 
tion of  cannibalism  partly,  or  mainly,  and  that 
the  profligacy  and  immorality  of  the  whites  have 
also  contributed  to  this  decline. 

Upon  the  ornamentation  of  the  work  of  these 
people  of  the  Marquesas,  as  shown  on  their 
carved  coconut  and  rosewood  dishes,  is  the 
“ Greek  ” pattern,  which  is  reproduced  here  (see 
page  245),  such  as  is  so  marked  a feature  of  the 
ruins  of  Mitla  in  Mexico,  and  of  ornamentation 
and  sculpture  in  prehistoric  stone  and  textile 
fabric  in  both  Mexico  and  Peru,  as  characteristic 
of  design  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  as  men- 
tioned elsewhere.  The  zigzag  lines,  also  sup- 
posed to  represent  sea  waves  in  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics, occur  in  the  Marquesan  decoration,  as 
well  as  in  Peru  and  Mexico.  Ornamentation 
upon  a frontlet  of  carved  turtle-shell,  given  by 
the  writer  last  quoted,  shows  the  square  sculp- 
tured idol  form  which  so  easily  carries  the  mind 
back  to  analogous  forms  in  ancient  America  and 
Asia.  The  pahi,  or  “ raft-boat,”  of  Tahiti  some- 
what resembles  the  balsa  of  Peru,  it  is  said. 

Continuing  our  westward  course  for  1,800 
miles  from  Tahiti,  we  reach  the  Tonga  or 
Friendly  Islands,  slightly  to  the  south  of  Samoa, 
and  about  1,000  miles  north  of  New  Zealand. 
At  Tongatabu,  or  “ Sacred  Tonga  ” — longitude 
about  1 7 50  W.,  the  largest  of  the  group — there 
are  some  ancient  stone  remains,  such  as  burial- 
places  built  with  great  blocks,  and  a remark- 
able monument  consisting  of  two  upright  blocks 


280  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


mortised  to  carry  a transverse  one,  on  which 
was  formerly  a circular  basin  of  stone.  These 
great  stone  blocks  must  have  been  brought  by 
sea.  As  we  have  seen,  Samoa,  not  very  far  to 
the  north  of  Tongataba,  was  the  principal  home 
of  the  navigating  Polynesian  people,  and  Savaii, 
the  largest  island  of  the  group,  the  centre  from 
which  they  dispersed  over  the  Pacific,  from 
Hawaii  to  New  Zealand.  They  carried  the  name 
Savaii  in  various  forms  to  Tahiti,  Hawaii,  the 
Marquesas,  and  New  Zealand,  did  these  Samoan 
wanderers . 

Traversing  a vast  distance  from  Samoa— 
3,000  miles  perhaps— to  the  north-west,  pass- 
ing other  groups  of  islands,  we  reach  the 
Caroline  Islands.  Here  are  massive  prehistoric 
stone  remains,  colossal  structures  which  cannot 
have  been  erected  by  the  present  Melanesian  or 
Polynesian  peoples.  They  form  part  of  a system 
whose  wide  diffusion,  which  extended  as  far  as 
Easter  Island,  approaching  the  New  World, 
points  to  the  occupation  of  the  Pacific  by  a 
prehistoric  race  with  considerable  pretensions  to 
general  culture. 

At  Lele  and  Ponape,  islets  of  this  group,  the 
last  named  some  2,300  miles  from  the  coast  of 
Japan,  exist  remarkable  structures  which  are  a 
puzzle  to  archaeologists  and  ethnologists.  In  the 
islet  of  Lele  there  are  ruins  which  present  the 
appearance  of  a citadel  with  Cyclopean  ramparts 
built  of  large  basaltic  blocks.  There  are  also 
numerous  canals,  and  what  look  like  artificial 
harbours  constructed  amid  the  shallow  lagoons. 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  281 


In  Ponape  the  remains  are  of  a similar  character, 
but  on  a much  larger  scale,  and  different  in  that 
those  of  Lele  stand  all  on  the  land  and  those  of 
Ponape  are  built  in  the  water.  The  whole  island 
is  strewn  with  natural  basaltic  prisms,  some  of 
great  size  ; and  of  this  material,  which  must  have 
been  brought  by  boats  or  rafts  from  a distance 
of  30  miles,  are  great  walls,  put  together  with- 
out any  mortar,  and  sustained  only  by  their  own 
weight.  All  the  massive  walls  and  other  struc- 
tures on  the  last  side  of  the  island  are  built  of 
these  basaltic  blocks.  The  walls  of  the  main 
building  near  the  entrance  of  Metalanim  Har- 
bour form  a massive  quadrangle  200  feet  on 
all  sides,  with  inner  courts,  vault,  and  raised 
platforms,  with  walls  20  feet  to  40  feet  high 
and  8 feet  to  10  feet  thick.  Some  of  the  blocks 
are  25  feet  long  and  8 feet  in  , circumference, 
and  weigh  from  3 to  4 tons.  There  are  also 
numerous  canals  from  30  feet  to  100  feet 
wide,  while  a large  number  of  islets,  mainly 
artificial,  covering  an  area  of  9 square  miles, 
have  all  been  built  up  out  of  the  shallow  water 
of  the  lagoon  round  about  the  entrance  of  the 
harbour,  with  high  sea-walls  composed  of  the 
same  basaltic  prisms.  The  walls  of  this  “ Pacific 
Venice,”  as  this  remarkable  place  has  been 
termed,  are  partly  submerged  in  some  places, 
and  this  has  given  rise  to  the  idea  that  the  land 
has  subsided  since  these  extensive  structures  were 
built.  This,  however,  is  doubtful.  But  it  is 
generally  agreed  that  these  structures  could  not 
possibly  have  been  the  work  of  any  existing 


282  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Polynesian  people,  and  they  can  only  be  attri- 
buted to  some  extinct  prehistoric  race,  doubtless 
the  men  of  the  new  Stone  Age,  who  emigrated 
from  the  Asiatic  mainland  long  ago  in  the  dawn 
of  history.1 

These  great  structures  at  Ponape  are  described 
in  several  books,  the  most  recent  being  that  by 
an  author,  whose  work  on  the  Eastern  Pacific 
has  been  quoted ; 2 and  the  following  is  the 
opinion  as  to  their  origin  by  an  authority  on 
those  regions,  before  quoted,  Sir  Cyprian  Bridge, 
who  says  3 

“ I have  ventured  to  form  the  opinion  that  the 
great  Ponape  and  Kusaie  ruins  are  not  those  of 
buildings  erected  by  the  races  at  present  in- 
habiting the  islands.  Whether  the  ancestors  of 
the  present  Ponapeans  or  an  earlier  people  built 
the  great  island-Venice  at  Metalanim,  it  will  not, 
I expect,  be  denied  that  the  builders  must  have 
vastly  outnumbered  the  existing  population.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  every  Pacific  island  on  which 
prehistoric  remains  are  found.  A tradition  of  a 
larger  population  in  early  times  is  very  common 
in  the  South  Seas,  and  there  is  evidence  beyond 
that  supplied  by  the  ruins  to  support  it.” 

Other  islands  of  the  Caroline  group  are  of 
interest  as  regards  these  ancient  stone  structures. 
The  island  of  Yap,  surrounded  by  a coral  reef 
thirty-five  miles  long,  “ is  full  of  relics  of  a 
vanished  civilisation — embankments  and  terraces, 
sites  of  ancient  cultivation,  and  solid  roads 

1 See  article  in  Encyc.  Brit.  2 Christian. 

3 Sir  Cyprian  Bridge,  in  Christian’s  ‘'The  Caroline  Islands.” 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  283 


neatly  paved  with  regular  stone  blocks,  ancient 
stone  platforms  and  graves,  and  enormous 
council  lodges  of  quaint  design.  Inland  are 
extensive  swamps  laid  out  in  plantations  of  a 
water  taro,  the  Colocasia  of  the  Nile  Valley.”  1 
The  “ stone  money  ” of  Yap,  huge  calcite  disks 
6 to  12  feet  in  diameter  and  weighing  up  to 
five  tons,  are  a remarkable  feature.  They  are 
quarried  in  the  Pelew  Islands  two  hundred  miles 
to  the  south,  but  those  which  existed  before  the 
advent  of  Europeans  must  have  been  brought  in 
native  vessels  or  rafts.2 

In  Ruk  and  Hogolu,  other  small  islands  of 
this  group,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  are 
described  as  of  a light  reddish-brown,  and  one 
of  the  curious  customs  of  these  people  is  that  of 
“ piercing  the  lower  lobe  of  the  ear  and  hanging 
a heavy  ornament  therein,  causing  it  to  expand 
downwards  to  an  enormous  size — a custom 
observed  also  in  the  Visayas  of  the  Southern 
Philippines,  among  the  ancient  Incas  of  Peru, 
and  the  Polynesians  of  Easter  Island.”  3 This 
was  a noteworthy  custom  in  early  Peru,  and  is 
kept  up  to-day  by  one  of  the  forest  tribes  of  the 
Peruvian  Amazon  region,  the  Orejones,  who  were 
in  close  contact  with  the  Incas  .4  I have  given 
an  illustration  of  this  in  my  book  on  Peru.  The 
same  custom  prevails  among  one  of  the  tribes 
of  Central  Africa. 5 

1 Christian,  ante.  2 Encyc.  Brit. 

3 Christian,  “ The  Caroline  Islands.” 

4 “ Peru,”  London,  1909. 

s See  illustrations  in  Geographical  Journal. 


284  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  description  given  by  'Christian  of  the 
Ponape  and  other  remains  is  of  much  interest, 
and  according  to  his  view  there  are  matters  in 
connection  with  these  works  and  the  inhabitants 
which  are  analogous  with  the  early.  Peruvians. 
“ Villages,  valleys,  hills,  and  streams  have  their 
genius  loci , and  the  Ponapeans,  like  the 
Quechuas,  people  their  swamps,  mountains,  and 
forests  with  spirits — gloomy,  malignant,  or  bene- 
ficent. “ All  these  ani  are  honoured  under  the 
guise  of  some  special  bird,  fish,  or  tree,  in  which 
they  are  supposed  to  reside,  which  they  style 
their  Tan-waar,  literally  canoe,  vehicle,  or 
medium  (like  the  Vaa  or  Vaka  of  the  Poly- 
nesians, the  Huaca  or  Vaka  of  the  Peruvians). 
In  their  mythology  they  also  have  a subterranean 
Tartarus — a gloomy  conception  very  much 
resembling  the  Yomi  of  Japan  and  the  Yama  of 
the  early  Vedas.”  It  may  be  worth  while  to 
recollect  here  the  canoe-shaped  houses  mentioned 
on  Easter  Island  in  this  connection. 

The  above-named  writer  describes  the  “ Pacific 
Venice  ” : — 

“ Ancient  platforms  and  tetragonal  enclosures 
of  stonework,  a wonder  of  tortuous  alley-ways, 
a labyrinth  of  shallow  canals,  grim  masses  of 
stonework  peer  out  from  behind  verdant  screens, 
and  passing  the  southern  barricade  of  stones  we 
turned  into  the  ghostly  labyrinth  of  this  city  of 
the  waters,  and  straightway  the  merriment  of 
our  guides  was  hushed  and  conversation  died 
down  to  whispers.  »We  are  close  to  Nan-Tanach 
(the  place  of  lofty  walls),  the  most  remarkable 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  285 


of  all  the  Metalanim  ruins.  The  water-front 
is  faced  with  a terrace  built  of  massive  basalt 
blocks  about  7 feet  wide,  standing  out  more  than 
6 feet  above  the  shallow  waterway.  Above  us 
we  see  a striking  example  of  immensely  solid 
Cyclopean  stonework  frowning  down  upon  the 
waterway,  a mighty  wall  formed  of  basaltic 
prisms,  for  it  is  now  low  tide  in  this  strange 
water-town.  The  left  side  of  the  great  gateway 
yawning  overhead  is  about  2 5 feet  in  height 
and  the  right  some  30  feet.  In  olden  times  the 
outer  wall  must  have  been  uniformly  of  consider- 
ably greater  height,  but  has  now  in  several  places 
fallen  to  ruin.  Somewhat  similar  in  character 
would  be  the  semi-Indian  ruins  of  Java,  and  the 
Cyclopean  structures  of  Ake,  and  Chichen-Itza 
in  Yucatan.  A series  of  huge  steps  brings  us 
into  a spacious  courtyard,  strewn  with  fragments 
of  fallen  pillars,  encircling  a second  terraced  en- 
closure with  a projecting  freize  or  cornice  of 
somewhat  Japanese  type.  The  outer  enclosure 
measured  some  185  feet  by  1 1 5 feet,  the  average 
thickness  of  the  outer  wall  was  1 5 feet,  vary- 
ing from  20  to  40  feet  in  height.  In  the  inner 
terraced  enclosure  lies  the  great  central  vault 
or  treasure-chamber  identified  with  the  name  of 
an  ancient  monarch  known  as  Chau-te-reul  or 
Chau-te-leur.  Chau  was  the  ancient  Ponape 
word  denoting  ( a ) the  sun,  ( b ) a king.  The 
latter  signification  tallies  with  the  Rotuma  Sau, 
a king,  and  the  Polynesian  Hau  and  Au,  a king, 
chief.” 

In  the  above-quoted  work  the  only  photo- 


286  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


graphic  views  given  are  of  walls  formed  of 
basaltic  prisms,  without  apparently  any  shaping 
or  sculpture,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  simi- 
larity they  could  present  with  the  Chichen-Itza 
in  Yucatan,  with  their  beautifully  sculptured  and 
elaborated  fagades.  It  is  perhaps  worthy  of 
mention  that  the  word  chau,  Ponape  for  sun, 
might  seem  to  have  some  analogy  with  Pun- 
chou,  meaning  sun,  also  “ god,”  I believe,  in  the 
Quechua  language  of  Peru,  as  mentioned  else- 
where.1 Tao-Te  was  one  of  the  early  Mexican 
names  for  God,  and  has  been  likened  to  the 
“ Tao  ” of  China  and  the  “ Tua  ” of  the  South  Sea 
Islands.  We  have  it  in  Teotihuacan,  the  sacred 
city  of  the  Toltecs  ; also  the  Taos  of  Ecuador. 

It  is  explained  that  “ Chau-te-leur  is  the 
name  of  an  ancient  king  or  dynasty  of  kings 
in  Metalanim,  when  Ponape  was  under  one  rule, 
and  the  great  walls  of  Nan-Tanach,  the  break- 
water of  Nan-Moluchai,  and  the  sanctuary  of 
Pan-Katara,  and  the  walled  islets  near  Tomun 
were  built  by  the  divine  twin  brethren — the  archi- 
tects Olo-Sipa  and  Olo-Sopa.  The  last  of  them, 
defeated  in  battle  by  barbarian  hordes  from  the 
south,  under  Icho-Kalakal,  perished  in  the  waters 
of  the  Chapalap  River,  near  the  great  harbour 
and  was  turned  into  a blue  fish,  the  kital,  which 
to-day  is  a taboo  fish.” 

The  suggestion  is  also  made  that  the  great 
basaltic  blocks  for  the  above  described  structure 
were  put  in  place  by  means  of  an  inclined  plane,  a 
slope  of  tree  trunks  sluiced  with  coconut -oil,  and 
1 See  p.  240. 


288  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


that  they  were  rafted  from  the  north  coast  of  the 
island.  Ropes  made  of  green  hibiscus  bark  and 
solid  staves  and  handspikes  with  relays  of  work- 
men may  have  hoisted  the  masses  up  to  the 
suggested  plane.  Among  the  articles  found  by 
digging  were  circular  rose-pink  beads,  minute 
and  delicate  in  design,  formed  of  shells  rubbed 
down,  and  “ answering  exactly  to  the  wampum 
or  shell  bead  money  of  the  North  American 
Indians.  Beads  exactly  similar  in  design  have 
recently  been  discovered  in  the  ruins  of  Mitla, 
in  Central  America.” 

Massive  sea-walls  and  breakwaters  are 
features,  as  before  mentioned,  of  these  struc- 
tures. “ Out  in  the  lagoon  off  the  harbour  mouth 
the  magnitude  of  the  task  of  the  early  builders 
impressed  us  deeply.  For  three  miles  down  to 
the  south  1 one  can  descry  here  and  there  the 
massive  sea-walls  showing  out  through  the  man- 
grove clumps  which  girdle  the  islets  of  Karrian, 
Likop,  Kapinet,  and  others.  There  are  over  fifty 
walled  islets  which,  together  with  the  intersecting 
canals,  occupy  some  eleven  square  miles.”  An 
ancient  native  fortress  is  described,  terraces  and 
a pyramid  with  a great  lodge  on  its  summit, 
platform  “ very  much  like  one  of  the  Mexican 
teocalli  or  truncated  pyramids.” 

On  the  textile  fabrics  depicted  of  these  people 
appear  patterns  which  seem  to  bear  some  simi- 
larity to  some  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  their 
weavers  appear  to  be  as  dexterous  in  their 
weaving  with  leaf  and  banana  fibres  as  the 
1 Christian,  ante.  See  plan. 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  289 


natives  of  Ecuador  and  Peru  are  in  the  so-called 
Panama  hats  and  the  ponchos  of  vicuna  wool. 

The  ruins  of  Lele  are  described  as  far  rougher 
and  ruder  in  design  than  those  of  the  east  coast 
of  Ponape,  “ but  the  great  walls  and  enclosures, 
gateways,  and  canals  attest  the  enormous  work 
performed  by  these  unknown  Titans.  Some  of 
the  stones  are  io  feet  long,  4 feet  deep,  and 
3 feet  thick.”  The  structures  are  overgrown, 
and  in  many  places  the  canals  have  been  filled 
up  by  the  natives  in  recent  times. 

“ 'At  Painu  we  launched  a canoe  and  soon 
found  ourselves  across  close  inshore  to  Nanta- 
marui.  Cautiously  poling  over  the  flats  and 
through  the  narrow  channels  in  the  salt-water 
brush,  we  reached  Nantiati  just  as  the  moon 
rose,  over  a wild,  picturesque  scene,  lighting  up 
league  upon  league  of  hill  and  valley,  the  forest- 
line trending  downwards  until  lost  in  the  dark 
and  eerie  zone  of  mangroves  which  rustle  around 
us,  dipping  their  long  forked  root-sprays  into 
the  muddy  water  like  the  claws  of  famished 
spectres  groping  for  their  prey.  Outside  the  hut 
is  a pile  of  enormous  basalt  slabs  like  a heap  of 
colossal  ninepins  shadowing  the  still  canal  in  the 
silvery  moonlight.  The  most  striking  prism  of 
all  measures  12  feet  in  length.  It  has  six  sides 
or  faces,  each  measuring  3 feet.  One  end  seems 
to  have  been  rudely  chipped  into  the  semblance 
of  a human  head.  Another  ponderous  mass 
almost  as  long  is  resting  upon  the  top  of  the 
rugged  blocks,  for  all  the  world  like  a giant 
club,  by  the  waterside.  It  recalls  the  huge  frag- 

19 


290  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


ment  topping  the  pile  of  half -submerged  blocks 
near  the  Nan-Moluchai  breakwater.  At  sea 
again,  about  midnight,  we  are  once  more  in  the 
heart  of  Nan-Matal,  threading  the  labyrinth  of 
narrow  canals  intersecting  the  rows  of  walled 
islets  of  the  water  town.  We  pass  Peikap, 
Chaok,  Tapan,  and  Nan-Pulok,  catching  stray 
glimpses  of  massive  masonry  looming  up,  dark 
and  imposing,  behind  the  waving  screen  of 
jungle,  a vivid  contrast  of  shifting  lights  and 
shadows.” 

From  the  Caroline  we  travel  a thousand  miles, 
more  or  less,  to  the  north-west,  towards  the  coast 
of  Japan,  and  reach  the  Marianas  or  Ladrones 
Islands.  Here  we  encounter  further  remains  of 
the  pre-historic  wall-building  people,  especially 
in  the  Island  of  Tinian.  Among  these  remains 
are  two  rows  of  massive,  square,  stone  columns, 
about  5 feet  4 inches  broad  and  14  feet  high, 
having  heavy  round  capitals . According  to  early 
Spanish  accounts  cinerary  urns  were  found  em- 
bedded in  these  capitals.  No  complete  explana- 
tion of  the  existence  of  these  remains  has  yet 
been  forthcoming,  and  they  are  wrapped  in  the 
same  mystery  that  surrounds  Easter  Island  and 
the  others  which  have  been  described. 

The  author  before  quoted  speaks  of  the  small 
pyramids  and  truncated  cones,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  placed  half -spherical  bodies,  which  are 
encountered  in  the  islands  of  the  Mariannes, 
especially  in  Guahan,  Saipan,  and  Tinian.  They 
vary  from  3 feet  to  1 3 feet  in  height,  and  were 
used  as  burial-places  or  cairns.  On  Tinian 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  ISLES  291 


Island  they  are  described  as  facing  each  other 
in  two  parallel  lines  like  a regular  street.  One 
had  upon  its  summit  a semi-esfera  or  half- 
spherical  body  two  and  a half  metres  in  diameter, 
and  one  a large  bowl  about  5 feet  in  depth. 
The  pyramids  are  of  rubble  cemented  with 
mortar,  formed  of  burnt  coral  and  sand. 

Whether  the  problem  involved  in  the  origin 
of  the  remains  of  these  various  groups  of  islands 
will  ever  be  solved  it  is  difficult  to  say.  Most  of 
them,  of  course,  are  very  remote,  and  compara- 
tively few  scientific  travellers  visit  them. 
Systematic  investigation  of  such  matters  is 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  purse,  and  it 
would  seem  that  at  present  there  is  a lack  of  those 
men  who  combine  a love  of  archaeological  re- 
search with  considerable  wealth,  who  would  under- 
take the  equipping  of  expeditions  to  these  distant 
places.  Surely  these  great  ethnological  puzzles 
would  give  way  before  the  combined  attack  of 
brains  and  money.  But  have  we  to-day  in- 
vestigators of  the  type  of  Humboldt,  who  could 
combine  his  world-covering  energy  and  know- 
ledge with  a sufficiency  of  means  ? 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 

A Pacific  “ Atlantis  ” — India  and  Java — Early  Malaysians — 
Early  Polynesians — Strange  voyages — Connection  with 
Peru  and  Mexico — Timor — Delhi  — Tasmania  — The 
Malay  Archipelago — “Out  of  the  sea” — A wide-scattered 
people — Malay  sailors — Hindu  ruins  in  Java — Bou  Budur 
— Indian  influence — Angkor  Thom — The  Khmers  of 
Cambodia  — Astonishing  ancient  temple  and  ruins — 
Brama  faces — The  Ainos  of  Japan — The  hot-pot  of  Asia 
— The  Mongolian  in  America — Kublai  Khan — Mongolia 
— Tibet  and  Peru — The  Veddahs  of  Ceylon — Australia’s 
part  in  the  secret — Caucasian  fragments — Mankind’s  vast 
antiquity — Ancient  land  connections  — Elevation  and 
subsidences  of  Pacific  shores — Japan — The  Andes — 
Markham’s  theory — The  Funafuti  borings — Darwin  and 
Murray — The  “subsidence”  theory — The  new  Stone  Age 
— The  inexplicable  problem — Change  of  the  earth’s  axis. 

More  like  the  evanescent  adventures  and 
palaces  of  fairy  tales  than  things  of  the  realm 
of  actuality  are  these  migrations  and  habitations 
of  the  bygone  peoples  of  the  Pacific  Isles. 

The  question  of  how  those  early  folk  arrived 
thither,  how  they  built  such  stupendous  struc- 
tures in  such  small  places,  and  why  they  did 
so  is  not  entirely  satisfied  by  the  history  and 
traditions  of  migrations  by  sea,  movements 

292 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


293 


whose  beginnings  were  in  that  remarkable  region 
of  Malaysia  after  one  of  those  remote  periods 
when  Asia  “ boiled  over,”  as  it  has  done  in  the 
past  and  doubtless  will  do  in  the  future.  Is 
there,  in  addition,  any  other  solution  or  supple- 
mentary proposition? 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  students  that  a 
continent  formerly  existed  in  the  Pacific — a sort 
of  Pacific  Atlantis — which  subsided,  leaving  only 
island-peaks  to  mark  its  place.1  Upon  this  matter 
we  shall  dwell  subsequently,  but  first  it  is  neces- 
sary to  consider  further  the  early  migration  of 
those  people  who  inhabit  these  regions. 

According  to  one  writer,  the  Chinese  (Fu- 
Hien)  visited  Java  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century 
B.C.,  and  it  is  known  that  from  the  first  century 
of  the  Christian  era  there  were  migrations  of 
people  from  India.  “The  Javanese  Babads  tell 
of  an  Indian  prince  who  came  to  Java  about 
78  or  120  A.D.,  where  he  found  a nomadic 
people.  Chinese  infiltration  probably  began  long 
after  220  B.C.  Arabian  traders  voyaged  to  the 
East  Indian  Archipelago  long  before  the  time 
of  Mohammed.  A mixture  of  Proto-Malayans 
with  Indonesians,  whom  we  may  call  Proto -Poly- 
nesians, drifted  into  the  West  Pacific,  and  gave  to 
the  black,  woolly-haired  natives  their  language 
and  some  elements  of  higher  culture,  the 
resultant  mixed  people  being  the  Melanesians. 
Later  migrations  fared  farther  into  the  Pacific, 
and  the  Samoan  Islands  appear  to  have  been  their 
first  centre  of  dispersal  within  the  Pacific  ; later 
1 Fritson,  “Globus,”  1907,  quoted  by  Haddon,  ante. 


294  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Tahiti  and  Raratonga  were  starting-points  for 
fresh  discoveries.  It  is  believed  1 that  the  parent 
stock  of  the  Polynesians  can  be  traced  to  India 
about  450  b.c.  and  that  a migration  took  place 
to  Java  in  65  B.c.  In  600  a.d.  Polynesians  were 
living  in  Tonga-nui  and  Samoa.  Hawaii  was 
first  settled  in  650  and  the  Marquesas  was  prob- 
ably occupied  twenty-five  years  later.  In  850 
New  Zealand  was  visited  and  definitely  occupied 
in  1350.  “ Some  idea  of  the  enterprise  of  these 

remarkable  navigators  in  their  sailing  canoes  may 
be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  inspired  by  the 
voyage  of  Ui-te-rangiora  to  the  Antarctic  Seas 
in  650,  Te  Aru-tanganuku  three  hundred  years 
later  sailed  in  search  of  the  wonders  of  the  deep. 
He  reached  the  land  of  snow  and  described  ice- 
bergs, sea-elephants,  and  the  large  ponds  of  the 
bull-kelp.  Even  the  remote  Easter  Island  was 
colonised,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  Poly- 
nesians reached  the  coast  of  America,”  says  a 
recent  authority.2 

The  matter  of  Polynesian  influence  in  Mexico 
or  Peru  is  one  which  has  been  debated,  and 
were  it  possible  to  establish  its  truth,  a link  would 
be  created  between  Asia  and  America  indeed. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Alfred  Wallace  that  a 
stream  of  migration  from  East  tropical  Asia, 
where  the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon,  the  early  Temple- 
builders  of  Cambodia,  and  the  Ainos  of  Japan, 

1 Smith,  “ Hawaiki : the  Original  Home  of  the  Maori,” 
1904. 

2 “The  Wanderings  of  Peoples,”  Haddon,  1911,  from 
which  the  above  passage  is  abstracted. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


295 


\ 


forming  remnants  of  the  Caucasian  races,  which 
emigrants  in  conjunction  with  Malay  tribes  pro- 
duced the  Mahoris  of  Samoa,  Hawaii,  and  New 
Zealand,  reached  South  America  and  were  the 
origin  of  the  Incas  of  Peru.1  Further  proofs  of 
these  migrations  might  solve,  to  a great  extent, 
the  Secret  of  the  Pacific. 

Timor,  “ the  island  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,” 
some  500  miles  to  the  north-west  of  Port  Darwin, 
in  the  northern  territory  of  Australia,  merits  here 
a word  of  mention.  The  inhabitants  are 
Papuans,  much  mixed  with  Malayan  and  perhaps 
Polynesian  elements,  and  are  described  as  a fine 
race  over  six  feet  tall,  noted  for  their  artistic 
sense.  Of  this  island  an  author  quoted  before 
says  : “ Timor  was  anciently  an  important  point 
in  the  migrations  of  the  Malayan  race,  in  whose 
calendar  Timor  is  still  preserved  to  denote  the 
East  Quarter,  side  by  side  with  the  more  modern 
term  ‘ Masrak  ’ (Arabic  Mashrik ).  As  varia- 
tions of  the  ancient  Malayan  geographical  name 
denote  different  points  of  the  compass,  so  we 
may  safely  take  Timor  to  have  been  one  of  the 
early  homes  of  the  Malayo-Polynesian,  ere  they 
dispersed  themselves,  wave  upon  wave,  flotilla 
upon  flotilla,  on  their  long  ocean  wanderings. 
The  little  town  Dilli  is  the  Malayan  form  of 
Delhi,  wondrous  city  of  palaces,  one  of  the 
numerous  Sanscrit  place-names  which  have  come 
floating  down  into  Malayan  on  untold  waves  of 
migration.”  2 

1 In  a letter  to  me,  already  quoted. 

2 Christian,  “ The  Caroline  Islands." 


296  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  black,  woolly-haired  races,  as  already 
described,  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  Malay 
Archipelago,  which  doubtless  has  been  divided 
into  islands  during  the  human  period.  The 
recently  extinct  Tasmanians  were  of  this  race, 
the  ground-stock  of  the  Melanesians — people  who 
“ walked  from  New  Guinea  to  Tasmania.”  1 This 
was,  as  a glance  at  the  map  will  show,  a long 
“walk.” 

The  Malayans  themselves,  the  dominant  race 
of  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  of  the  Malay  Archi- 
pelago, are  of  mysterious  origin.  Though  in 
their  lands  this  brown  race  have  enjoyed  for 
a thousand  years  the  position  of  the  dominant 
people,  they  all  possess  a tradition  that  they  are 
not  indigenous  and  that  their  first  rulers  “ came 
out  of  the  sea,”  and  it  has  been  shown  that  they 
possessed  a certain  amount  of  civilisation  before 
ever  they  set  foot  in  Malaya.  Until  recently 
eminent  scientists  held  the  opinion  that  they 
were  of  Mongol  stock,  and  resemblance  was 
noted  between  the  Malay  and  Mongol  physical 
characteristics,2  but  a more  generally  accepted 
theory  is  that  the  Malayan  race  is  distinct  and 
came  from  the  South,  until  it  was  stayed  by  the 
Mongolian  race  living  on  the  mainland  of 
Southern  Asia.  Their  language,  crania -measure- 
ments, and  hair,  moreover,  are  distinct  from  the 
Mongolian  races.  The  theory  is  now  supported 
that  they  form  a distinct  race,  and  had  their 
original  home  in  the  South.  Where  that  home 

1 Haddon,  “ The  Wanderings  of  People.” 

2 Dr.  Wallace,  “ Malay  Archipelago.” 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


297 


lay  it  is  not  easy  to  say,  but  the  facts  recorded 
by  many  writers  as  to  the  resemblance  between 
the  Malayan  and  Polynesian  races,  and  the  strong 
Malayan  element  found  in  the  Polynesian  lan- 
guages, have  led  some  students  to  think  that  the 
two  races  may  have  had  a common  origin.  One 
writer  attributed  the  fact  of  linguistic  analogies 
to  the  casting  away  of  ships  manned  by  Malays 
upon  the  islands  of  the  Polynesian  Archipelago, 
but  this  does  not  satisfactorily  account  for  the 
same  Malayan  words  appearing  in  localities  so 
widely  separated  as  they  are,  and  the  theory  is 
more  generally  held  that  the  two  races  are  allied, 
and  may  at  some  remote  period  of  history  have 
shared  a common  home.  “ It  has  been  suggested 
that  their  separation  did  not  take  place  until 
after  the  continent  which  once  existed  in  the 
North  Pacific  had  become  submerged.”  1 

Thus  it  has  ever  been  conjectured  that  there 
existed  some  shadowy  continent  in  the  North 
Pacific,  which  has  disappeared  beneath  the 
waters,  and  that  separation  of  those  races 
took  place  at  that  time,  the  Malays  wander- 
ing northwards,  whilst  the  Polynesian  race 
spread  itself  over  the  islands  of  the  southern 
archipelago.  This,  although  admittedly  a specu- 
lative view,  is  the  most  recent  upon  the  subject. 
In  any  case  the  Malays  are  now  a race  scattered 
widely  and  without  political  coherence,  con- 
ditions which  are  one  of  the  puzzles  of  the 
ethnographer,  and  which  time  must  solve. 


1 See  Encyc.  Brit.,  “ Malays.” 


298  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


The  present  home  of  these  people  is  in  the 
extremity  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  the  islands 
of  Java,  Sumatra,  and  Borneo,  and  others  of 
the  Malay  Archipelago,  and,  still  farther  afield, 
the  Philippines  and  Madagascar.  Even  the  in- 
habitants of  most  of  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
whether  Hawaii  or  New  Zealand,  speak 
languages  showing  Malay  influence  in  the  past. 
It  has  been  adduced  from  this  that  the  Malays 
have  not  now  a continental  character,  but  that 
by  nature  or  circumstance  they  are  “ a seafaring 
race  with  singular  powers  of  dispersal,  which 
has  caused  them  to  spread  over  the  ocean  from 
some  island  centre,  perhaps  Java.”  The  great 
number  of  Malays  as  sailors  on  British  ships 
is  a witness  to  the  seafaring  tendency  of  these 
people.  It  has  also  been  advanced  as  a recent 
theory  that  the  stream  of  migration  proceeded 
from  the  extreme  West,  of  which  a great  lin- 
guistic group,  which  included  the  Malay,  Poly- 
neasian,  and  Micronesian  languages  and  some 
others  furnished  the  source. 

These  considerations  about  the  Malays  have 
brought  us  to  Asia,  but  only  very  briefly  can  we 
enter  upon  the  complicated  and  shadowy  move- 
ments which  concern  us  here,  movements  which 
have  already  been  touched  upon. 

In  the  history  of  the  Asiatic  Malays  three 
periods  have  been  considered  by  the  ethnologists  : 
the  first  included  that  of  the  semi-barbarous 
Dyaks,  the  second  that  of  a Hindu  civilisation 
which  penetrated  the  Malay  Peninsula  and 
reached  Java  and  Sumatra  and  other  islands. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


299 


This  was  superseded  by  Islam  in  the  beginning 
of  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  Hindu  civilisation  left  some  astonishing 
ruins  in  Java,  numerous  and  splendid  temples 
and  monastic  buildings,  chief  among  them  the 
famous  Boro-Budur.  These  ruins  would  require 
and,  indeed,  have  a literature  to  themselves,  and 
we  shall  not  enter  upon  them  here.  It  has  been 
stated  that  if  the  statues  and  bas-reliefs  of  the 
hill  or  temple  of  Boro-Budur  were  placed  side 
by  side  they  would  extend  for  three  miles.  This 
type  of  architecture  is  a type  which  reached  a 
high  standard  without  the  use  of  mortar,  and 
in  that  respect  reminds  us  of  early  America. 

The  sphere  of  Indian  influence  is  a vast  one, 
including  Indo-China,  much  of  the  Malay  Penin- 
sula, Tibet,  and  Mongolia.  Much  of  the  origin 
of  its  art  is  stated  to  be  Greek,  “ derived  from 
the  Perso-Greek  States  on  the  north-west  fron- 
tiers of  India.”  Indian  alphabets  have  spread  to 
Tibet,  Cambodia,  Java,  and  Korea,  notwithstand- 
ing the  chapters  afforded  by  the  huge  ruins.  The 
history  of  Indian  civilisation  in  Indo-China  and 
the  archipelago  remains  obscure.  As  to  Cam- 
bodia this  formed  the  relatively  ancient  Khmer 
Kingdom,  much  reduced  in  the  last  few  centuries. 
The  remarkable  ruins,  dating  possibly  from 
A.D.  800  to  1000,  show,  as  in  Java,  the  earlier 
powerful  existence  of  Hindu  influence.  Most 
notable  are  the  royal  city  of  Angkor-Thom, 
which  was  completed  about  A.D.  900,  and  the 
temple  of  Angkor  Vat,  in  the  first  half  of  the 
twelth  century  A.D.  These  ruins  are  situated 


300  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


in  forests  on  the  banks  of  the  river : walls, 

palaces,  temples,  terraces,  pyramidal  religious 
structures,  magnificent  reliefs,  elaborate  system 
of  galleries,  the  last  rectangular  in  the  arrange- 
ment and  enclosing  a cruciform  structure,  at  the 
centre  of  which  rises  a huge  tower  with  a circular 
base,  and  at  intervals  are  fifty  towers,  decorated 
with  quadruple  faces  of  Brahma — such  are  some 
of  the  features  of  Angkor-Thom.  Angkor  Val 
is  the  best  preserved  example  of  Khmer  archi- 
tecture, with  a paved  causeway  leading  under 
a magnificent  portico,  staircases,  sanctuaries, 
towers,  galleries,  representations  of  gods,  men, 
and  animals  on  every  flat  surface.  The  stone 
was  cut  into  huge  blocks — principally  sandstone 
— fitted  together  without  cement,  like  those  of 
Java.  The  ancient  civilisation  of  the  Khmers  was 
destroyed  about  six  hundred  years  ago,  but  its 
astonishing  ruins  were  only  made  known  to 
Europe  in  1858.  Hundreds  of  gigantic  faces  of 
Brahma  are  the  characteristic  features  of  the  great 
temple  of  Baion,  whose  interior  walls  contain 
nearly  eleven  thousand  figures  of  men  and 
animals.  The  temple,  according  to  native 
history,  was  built  in  250  B.C.  and  the  people 
who  built  also  made  “ great  lines  of  roads  equal 
to  those  of  the  Romans.”  For  more  than  two 
thousand  years  there  was  then,  in  the  south- 
eastern peninsula  of  Asia,  a dense  population  of 
various  races,  ruled  over  by  a highly  civilised 
superior  race  of  undoubted  Caucasian  type,  and 
the  Khmers  who  still  exist  amid  these  surround- 
ings are  high  above  any  people  of  the  Mongol 
race. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


301 


In  Dr.  Wallace’s  book,1  from  which  some  of 
the  above  particulars  are  taken,  there  are  photo- 
graphic reproductions  of  these  marvellous  build- 
ings, which  are  of  great  interest.  As  has  been 
shown,  Dr.  Wallace  maintains  that  these  early 
temple-builders  of  Cambodia,  intermixed  with 
others,  produced  the  fine  Mahori  race,  whose  off- 
shoots reached  South  America  and  were  the 
origin  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  and  Bolivia.  Full 
of  allurement  are  these  mysterious  problems  of 
the  past. 

As  is  the  case  of  the  Cambodians  so  is  that 
of  the  Ainos  of  Japan,  as  having  formed  part 
of  the  human  material  whose  immigrating  off- 
shoots reached  America,  according  to  the  same 
authority.  These,  the  aborigines  of  Northern 
Asia,  do  not  provide  any.  material  for  their 
history,  although  there  is  some  record  of  the 
migration  of  later  races  superimposed  upon 
them.  “ The  Chinese  came  from  the  west, 
though  how  far  west  is  unknown.  The  Hindus 
and  Persians  came  from  the  north-west,  the 
Burmese  and  Siamese  from  the  north.  We  do 
not  know  if  the  Mongols,  Turks,  &c.,  had  any 
earlier  home  than  Central  Asia,  but  their  exten- 
sive movements  from  that  region  are  historical. 
The  antiquity  of  Asiatic  history  is  often  exag- 
gerated. With  the  exception  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria,  we  can  hardly  even  conjecture  what  was 
the  condition  of  this  continent  much  before 
1500  B.C.  The  advancing  Chinese  and  Aryans 
were  in  conflict  with  earlier  races.  The  influ- 
x “ Studies  Scientific  and  Social/’  vol.  i. 


302  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


ence  of  Babylonian  civilisation  was  probably 
widespread.  Some  connection  between  Babylo- 
nia and  China  is  generally  admitted.  China  has 
moulded  the  civilisation  of  the  eastern  mainland 
and  Japan,  without  much  affecting  the  Malay 
archipelago.  In  its  outer  sphere  of  influence  are 
Mongolia,  Tibet,  Siam,  Cambodia,  and  Burma, 
where  Indian  and  Chinese  influences  are  com- 
bined, the  Indian  being  often  the  stronger.  The 
distribution  of  the  Mongolian  group  in  Asia 
offers  no  particular  difficulty.  There  is  complete 
present,  and  probably  previous,  long-existing 
geographical  continuity  in  the  area  over  which 
they  are  found,  with  considerable  similarity  of 
climate  and  other  conditions  throughout  the 
northern  half  of  Asia  which  they  occupy.  The 
extension  of  modified  forms  of  the  Mongolian 
type  over  the  whole  of  the  American  continent 
may  be  mentioned  as  a remarkable  circumstance 
connected  with  this  branch  of  the  human  race.” 
“ The  relation  to  Asia  of  the  pre-European 
civilisations  of  America  is  one  of  those  questions 
which  admit  of  no  definite  answer  at  present, 
though  many  facts  support  the  theory  that  the 
semi-civilised  inhabitants  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America  crossed  from  Asia  by  Behring  Straits 
and  descended  the  West  Coast.” 

The  foregoing  passage,  abstracted  from  the 
article  on  Asia  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica,  is  of  extreme  interest  as  show- 
ing the  most  recent  thought  upon  the  Asiatic 
influence  in  America  in  pre-Columbian  times, 
and  certainly  may  be  taken  as  combating  the 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


303 


negative  opinions  of  last  century,  some  of  which 
I have  quoted  in  this  book. 

The  word  Mongolia  conveys  perhaps  to  the 
ordinary  reader  but  a vague  impression,  and 
nothing  but  a study  of  the  map  of  Asia  can 
give  a clear  idea  of  the  extent  and  position  of 
the  country.  The  Mongols  were  those  formid- 
able nomads  who  swarmed  over  Central  Asia, 
China,  India,  and  Europe,  and  performed  such 
astonishing  conquests  from  the  beginning  of 
their  known  history  in  619  A.D.  A dependency 
of  China,  it  has  an  area  of  1,350,000  square 
miles,  and  about  3,000,000  people,  but,  due  to 
the  possible  disruption  of  China,  it  seems  that  a 
further  change  in  its  fortunes  will  occur.  It  is 
divided  geographically  by  the  huge  desert  of 
Gobi,  largely  unexplored.  In  the  thirteenth 
century  the  Mongol  power  under  Kublai  Khan 
conquered  China.  The  possibility  of  an  influence 
upon  Peru  has  been  discussed  elsewhere.  The 
Mongol  dynasty  in  China  lasted  less  than  a 
century,  but  the  Ming,  the  native  Chinese  dynasty, 
which  succeeded  it,  reigned  for  nearly  three  hun- 
dred years  and  sent  out  expeditions — as  Kublai 
Khan  had  done — to  remote  regions,  including 
India,  Ceylon,  and  East  Africa.  The  Manchus 
followed  from  1644  to  19 11,  and  it  was  on  the 
29th  of  December,  1911,  the  overthrow  of  this 
and  the  election  of  China’s  first  president  of  a 
republic  was  announced. 

The  illustrations  given  in  this  book  of  natives 
of  the  Quechua  districts  of  Peru,  may,  as  before 
mentioned,  be  compared  with  the  Tibetan  and 


304  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Mongolian  faces.  Wanderers  from  Tibet  might, 
indeed,  have  felt  at  home  in  Peru,  with  its  remote 
towns  on  lofty  plateaux,  in  the  heart  of  snowy 
mountains  : a land  so  similar  to  their  own.  Is  it 
possible  that  the  opening  up  of  the  great  unknown 
regions  of  Asia,  and  study  of  its  desert  cities  and 
ancient  manuscripts  will  yield  some  clue  towards 
the  solution  of  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific  ? 1 

To  turn  from  Asia  now,  for  a brief  glance  at 
Australasia.  There  are  in  many  parts  of  Southern 
Asia  semi-barbarous  races  who  represent  the 
very  earliest  types  of  mankind,  as  far  as  known, 
such  as  the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon  and  other  tribes 
in  China  and  Malaysia  ; and  some  of  these  are 
analogous,  it  is  held,  in  some  respects  with  the 
Australians — a connection  which,  if  it  really 
existed,  must  be  of  so  remote  a period  as 
that  when  land  communication  was  very 
different.  In  discussing  the  probable  origin  of 
the  Australian  race  Dr.  Wallace  says  that  the 
aborigines  of  Australia  differ  remarkably  from 
those  of  all  surrounding  countries,  while  they 
agree  so  closely  among  themselves  in  every  part 
of  the  continent  that  they  evidently  form  a single 
race.  Although  their  features  are  coarse  they 
are  far  less  so  than  in  the  negro  races.  In  colour 
they  are  a deep  copper  or  chocolate,  never  sooty 

1 Perhaps  something  in  this  connection  may  be  hoped  for 
from  the  researches  of  Dr.  Aurel  Stein,  whose  book  u Ruins 
of  Desert  Cathay  ” has  been  published,  and  in  which  are 
mentioned  twenty-nine  cases  of  manuscript  and  objects 
of  Graeco-Buddhist  and  other  art,  from  a chapel  walled 
up  for  900  years,  brought  home  by  him  to  the  British 
Museum. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


305 


black  as  in  the  negro ; hair  long,  glossy,  black 
or  very  deep  auburn,  wavy  or  curly,,  luxurious 
moustache,  beard,  whiskers,  usually  of  an  auburn 
tinge.  These  characters  give  to  the  face  a 
familiar  appearance,  resembling  the  coarser  and 
more  sensual  types  of  Western  Europeans,  whilst 
they  are  totally  removed  from  any  of  the  beard- 
less Malayan  and  Polynesian  tribes  or  the  woolly, 
Papuans.  If  we  turn  to  habits  and  customs  for 
some  light  as  to  their  probable  derivation,  we 
must  go  far  beyond  the  limits  of  all  surround- 
ing people.  Analogy  has  been  drawn  between 
customs  which  are  common  to  Australia  and 
Africa.  More  interesting  is  the  fact  that  the 
peculiar  Australian  weapon,  the  boomerang,  finds 
its  nearest  representative  in  Abyssinia  and  among 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  This  may  indicate  that 
the  weapon  had  a wider  range  in  early  times, 
but  can  hardly  be  held  to  prove  identity  of  race. 
Considered  broadly,  and  without  prejudice,  the 
Australians  belong  neither  to  the  Negroid  nor  to 
the  Mongoloid  types  of  man,  while  in  all  essential 
characters  they  must  be  classed  as  Caucasians. 
If  we  look  abroad  for  other  isolated  fragments 
of  the  same  type,  we  find  one  in  the  Ainos  of 
Japan.  These  singular  people  agree  wonderfully, 
with  the  Australian  type,  but  are  somewhat  more 
hairy  and  of  a lighter  colour.  They  are  also  in 
a more  advanced  stage  of  material  civilisation, 
and  are  probably  on  a somewhat  higher  intel- 
lectual and  moral  plane. 

Other  fragments  of  the  same  great  primitive 
race  exist  in  the  Khmers  and  Chams  of  Cam- 

20 


306  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


bodia,  who  are  said  to  be  decidedly  Caucasian 
in  type,  while  their  language  has  affinities  with 
those  of  Polynesia,  where  also  Caucasian  affinities 
are  shown,  especially  in  some  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Micronesia.  Of  all  these  widely  scattered 
Caucasian  fragments  we  must  look  upon  the 
Australians  as  the  lowest.  Their  antiquity,  in 
all  probability,  is  very  great,  since  they  must 
have  entered  their  present  country  at  a time 
when  their  ancestors  had  not  acquired  the  arts 
of  making  pottery,  houses,  bows  and  arrows,  of 
tilling  the  soil  and  domesticating  animals.1 

The  same  author  describes  the  remarkable 
cave-paintings  and  sculptures  found  by  Sir 
George  Grey  in  the  valley  of  the  Glenelg  River 
in  North-West  Australia — life-size  figures  in 
blue,  red,  and  yellow,  some  with  a head-dress 
or  halo,  and  letters  and  characters  having  an 
Oriental  aspect ; also  a sculptured  human  head 
about  2 feet  in  length,  the  singularity  of  which 
is  that  it  is  perfectly  European  in  type.  On 
Chasm  Island  are  other  figures,  and  two  large 
square  mounds  formed  of  loose  stones,  but 
perfect  parallelograms  in  outline,  placed  due  east 
and  west.  It  is  possible  that  converts  of  the 
early  Jesuit  missionaries  may  have  been  wrecked 
on  this  coast  and  executed  these  works,  but 
whoever  it  was  certainly  they  were  not  done  by 
the  aboriginal  Australian. 

The  conclusion  reached  is  that  the  Australians 
are  really  of  Caucasian  origin,  and  this  accords 

1 “ Australasia,”  Wallace,  Stanford’s  “ Compendium  of 
Geography  and  Travel,”  1893. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


307 


with  all  the  facts  of  the  case  ; and  since  it  has 
been  admitted  that  even  some  of  the  darkest 
Hindoos  are  nearly  allied  to  Europeans,  there 
is  less  improbability  in  the  existence  of  some 
more  archaic  and  less  developed  examples  of 
the  same  type. 

“ It  also  accords  with  all  we  are  now  learning 
of  the  vast  antiquity  of  the  human  race,  since  if 
all  the  tribes  now  living  can  be  classed  in  one 
or  other  of  the  three  great  divisions  of  mankind, 
Negroid,  Mongolian,  and  Caucasian,  or  as 
probable  mixtures  of  them,  we  are  impressed 
with  the  conviction  that  we  must  go  back  to 
periods  to  which  the  earliest  historical  dates  are 
but  as  yesterday  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  epoch 
when  the  common  ancestors  of  these  three  well- 
marked  types  alone  inhabited  the  earth.  Even 
then  we  shall  have  made  no  perceptible  approach 
to  the  ‘ missing  link  ’ — to  the  common  ancestors 
of  man  and  the  higher  quadrumana.”  1 

Such  are,  then,  some  of  the  currents  and 
cross-currents  in  the  movements  of  mankind  in 
these  vast  regions,  of  which  the  present  work 
has  endeavoured,  even  if  in  a fragmentary  way, 
to  remind  the  reader,  hoping  that  he  will  go 
to  the  real  fountain-heads  of  knowledge  on  the 
subject,  from  which  this  fragmentary  resume  is 
compiled.  It  remains  to  consider,  briefly,  the 
changes  on  land  and  water  that  have  occurred 
in  the  regions  here  concerned,  where  the  possi- 
bilities of  some  ancient  universal  culture  may 
have  been  responsible  for  the  strange  monuments 
1 Wallace,  ante. 


308  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


we  have  considered— some  lost  Pacific  and 
Atlantic  continents  : a matter  which  has  been 
touched  upon  in  an  early  chapter. 

Science  is  still  divided  as  to  the  earlier 
arrangement  of  land  and  water  in  many  parts 
of  the  globe.  Geology  shows  that  parts  of 
what  are  now  continents  formed,  long  ago  in 
the  earth’s  history,  portions  of  the  bed  of  the 
ocean,  while  what  are  now  islands  were  in  some 
instances  connected  with  their  adjacent  main- 
lands. They  were  even  joined  as  land  masses, 
the  sites  of  which  are  now  occupied  by  the  open 
sea.  Thus  there  may  have  been  land  connec- 
tion between  Australasia  and  South  America,  and 
between  South  America  and  Africa — North  Brazil 
and  North  Africa.  North  and  South  America 
were  formerly  disunited,  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  Tertiary  period  until  the  later  Miocene  or 
Pliocene  period,  at  some  epoch  of  which  a con- 
nection was  established  between  the  twin  conti- 
nents by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  and 
northern  animals  passed  over  this  land-bridge, 
from  North  America,  including,  probably,  llamas, 
horses,  mastodons,  and  perhaps  opossums,  at  that 
time  of  zoological  distribution.  Of  course,  the 
horse,  mastodon,  and  opossum  disappeared  from 
America,  whilst  the  llama,  the  hoofed  ruminating 
quadruped  of  the  humpless  camel  tribe,  is  found 
nowhere  except  in  Peru  and  Bolivia  to-day.  But, 
as  it  has  been  well  said,  “ we  must  not  construct 
bridges  without  being  sure  of  our  points  of 
attachment,”  at  least  as  regards  the  South 
America-Africa  connection.  It  has  also  been 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


309 


said  that  camels  and  horses  may  have  origin- 
ated in  the  New  World,  but  there  seems  at 
least  an  equal  probability  that  Central  Asia — or 
a land  common  to  Asia  and  America — may 
have  been  their  birthplace.  “ In  pre-Tertiary 
times — probably  cretaceous — Australia  was  united 
by  land  with  Asia.  The  connection  of  Australia 
and  South  America  by  means  of  a mid-Pacific 
continent  may  have  existed,  and  the  early 
Tertiary  Atlantic  ‘ Hellenis  ’ may  have  been  in 
contact  with  Guiana  on  the  one  side  and  tropical 
Africa  on  the  other.” 

If,  however,  such  land  connections  existed  only 
before  man  appeared,  and  these  subsidences  took 
place  in  the  Tertiary  period  before  the  dawn 
of  human  life,  they  are  not  factors  which  can 
solve  the  present  problem.  Some  authorities 
maintain  that  there  have  not  been  any  particular 
changes  in  the  bed  of  the  open  Pacific  since 
the  Palaeozoic  era,  nor  that  any  particular  part 
of  the  huge  space  over  which  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific  flow  to-day  has  ever  been  uncovered, 
that  both  as  regards  elevation  above  sea -level 
and  depression  below  it  no  great  change  has 
occurred. 

Probably,  however,  more  is  yet  to  be  learned 
on  this  point.  It  is  known  from  careful  observa- 
tion that  the  east  coast  of  Japan  is  slowly  rising, 
and  trustworthy  maps  show  that  Tokio  Bay  ex- 
tended much  more  deeply  to  the  north  in  the 
eleventh  century  than  now,  and  that  low-lying 
districts,  thickly  populated  to-day,  were  formerly 
under  water.  Similar  phenomena  have  been  laid 


310  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


bare  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Asakusa — 
named  from  an  edible  seaweed,  which  fact  gave 
rise  to  the  discovery  of  its  altered  position  in 
regard  to  tide-water — is  now  three  miles  inland. 
The  mountain  country  of  Kasusa-Awa  “ emerged 
from  Tokio  Bay  as  an  island,  and  a current  ran 
in  a north-westerly  direction  between  this  island 
and  the  northern  mountain  margin  of  the  present 
plain  towards  the  north-east  into  the  open 
ocean.”  1 

When  we  come  to  the  other  side — the 
American  side — of  the  Pacific  basin  we  find 
that  very  marked  changes  of  elevation  have 
occurred,  and  possibly  within  the  human  period. 
It  is  known  that  portions  of  the  Andes  and  the 
North  American  Cordillera  have  been  raised  and 
that  other  parts  have  sunk.  It  is  even  con- 
jectured that  the  highland  region  of  Peru  and 
Bolivia  may  have  been  elevated  since  the  build- 
ing of  the  megalithic  structures  of  the  pre-Inca 
people  ; and  one  of  the  arguments  adduced  is 
that  these  buildings  exist  in  a region  where 
now  timber  does  not  grow  and  where  maize 
will  not  ripen.  An  interesting  paper  upon  Peru, 
recently  given  by  one  of  the  most  eminent 
authorities  on  the  subject  before  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,2  dealt  with  the  matter  in 
some  detail,  and  the  question  raised  again  of 
how  a site  for  a city  of  the  considerable 
importance  which  the  ruins  of  Tiahuanako 
show  existed  there — long  before  the  Inca  period, 

1 Naumann,  quoted  in  the  Encyc.  Brit.,  “Japan.” 

2 Sir  Clements  Markham,  May,  1910. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


311 


for  the  Incas  knew  nothing  of  its  origin — 
could  have  been  selected  where  food  supplies 
were  not  available.  Some  of  the  cut  and  carved 
monoliths  of  these  ruins  are  unequalled  in  size 
in  any  part  of  the  world,  it  is  stated,  except 
Egypt.  It  was  argued  that  1,000  feet  elevation 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
phenomenon,  the  ruins  being  at  present  at  about 
12,000  feet  above  sea-level.  My  own  part  in 
this  discussion  1 was  to  the  effect  that  it  seemed 
difficult  that  stones  so  delicately  poised  upon  each 
other  as  are  found  in  these  ancient  walls  could 
have  escaped  displacement  in  such  a prodigious 
earth-movement.  Further,  the  ancient  Castle  of 
Chavin,  in  Northern  Peru,  stands  upon  the  banks 
of  a stream,  as,  apparently,  it  was  built,  and  it 
seems  difficult  to  suppose  that  this  stream  could 
have  flowed  on  unaltered  as  before  if  the  whole 
region  had  suffered  elevation. 

As  to  the  very  recent  upraising  of  the  Andes 
geologically,  there  is  no  question  whatever.  The 
mountains,  vast  and  grand  as  they  are,  are  the 
“ newest  ” in  the  world  perhaps,  and  some 
authorities  have  stated  that  they  had  no  existence 
even  in  so  late  a period  as  the  Cretaceous. 
Quoted  also  was  the  Huarochiri  myth  that  “ when 
Huirakocha  was  here  our  land  was  Yunca.”  The 
first -named  place  is  an  elevated  region  ; the  last 
is  upon  the  coast,  and  embraced  the  Chimu  king- 
dom, ruins  of  whose  epoch  have  been  described. 
Indications  of  the  upraising  of  the  Andes  are 
as  an  open  book  to  the  traveller.  The  huge 
1 Geographical  Journal , October,  1910. 


312  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


fossil  ammonites  and  cephalopods  which  I 
observed  and  sketched,1  existing  in  large  numbers 
in  the  limestone  strata  at  14,000  feet  elevation, 
some  of  them  3 and  4 feet  in  diameter,  were,  of 
course,  denizens  of  the  sea-bottom  once.  Also 
the  huge  masses  of  shell  conglomerate  in  those 
high  upland  regions  bear  eloquent  witness. 
Bones  of  mastodons  have  been  found  at  13,000 
feet  in  Bolivia,  and  gigantic  fossil  ant-eaters  in 
what  is  now  desert.  The  great  peak  of  Illimani, 
21,204  feet  elevation,  is  fossil -bearing  to  its 
summit.  There  are,  in  brief,  many  indications 
of  the  recent  and  rapid  rise  of  the  mountain  chain 
of  Andes  from  the  ocean,  parts  of  it  undoubtedly 
within  the  time  of  man’s  habitation  of  the  region  ; 
and  that  it  is  still  rising  is  also  shown.  In  other 
places  at  its  extremities  the  chain  has,  on  the 
contrary,  become  submerged,  as  in  the  south  of 
Chile ; whilst  the  North  American  Cordillera, 
in  Alaska,  has  sunk  and  remains  in  places  as 
tree-covered  island-tops.  Darwin  maintained  that 
the  Peruvian  coast  had  risen  8 5 feet  during  the 
time  of  human  life  there,  as  shown  by  Indian 
remains  .2 

As  to  the  theory  of  the  subsidence  of  land 
areas  in  the  Pacific,  this  was  substantiated  to 
some  extent  by  the  borings  undertaken  in  1897 
at  Funafuti.  This  island  is  a typical  atoll  or 
coral  island  in  the  Ellice  group,  and  was  selected 
as  the  scene  of  operations  made  by  the  expedi- 
tion sent  out  by  the  Royal  Society  of  London. 

1 See  my  book  “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 

2 w Coral  Reefs,”  Darwin. 


THE  LOST  CONTINENT 


313 


The  purpose  was  to  test,  by  means  of  a deep 
boring,  the  question  at  issue  between  the  Darwin 
and  Murray  theories  as  to  the  formation  of  such 
atolls.  Darwin’s  theory  was  that  of  “ sub- 
sidence.” He  argued  that  coral  islands  must 
have  a rocky  base,  upon  which  the  corals  build, 
as  coral -builders  do  not  flourish  below  a depth 
of  20  fathoms  ; and  that  it  was  inconceivable 
that  there  could  exist  in  the  Pacific  so  vast  a 
number  of  submarine  peaks  or  banks  rising  to 
about  that  depth  below  the  surface  and  none 
above  it,  but  that  the  deep  coral  reefs  must  have 
been  formed  as  subsidence  proceeded.  The 
borings,  made  to  a depth  of  1,114  feet,  estab- 
lished this  theory  as  mainly  correct,  or  at  least 
for  that  part  of  the  Pacific ; and  therefore 
Funafuti  would  appear  to  have  been  formed  in 
an  area  of  subsidence. 

Reliable  authorities  consider  that  probably  the 
large  groups  of  low-lying  islands  in  the  Pacific 
and  Indian  Oceans  have  been  formed  under  the 
same  conditions,  and  that  such  subsidences  may 
have  taken  place  within  the  time  of  man.  The 
Funafuti  borings  established  beyond  doubt  that 
Polynesia  is  within  an  area  of  comparatively 
recent  subsidence,  and  it  is  argued  that  land 
connections  were  formerly  more  continuous,  and 
might  have  afforded  easy  passage  to  migrating 
peoples. 

In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  recollected  that 
the  people  of  the  new  Stone  Age  overran  the 
earth  in  early  times.  The  dolman -builders  occu- 
pied both  Korea  and  Japan,  and  from  these 


314  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Pacific-fronting  lands  of  Asia  it  would  have  been 
easy  for  them  to  spread  over  the  Polynesian 
region,  in  the  same  way  that  they  ranged  over 
Europe — Scandinavia,  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland 
— leaving  us  many  legacies  of  their  art,  such  as 
Stonehenge  and  other  monuments.  “ To  the 
men  of  the  Neolithic  Age,  then,  represented  in 
Polynesia,  perhaps,  by  the  more  light-com- 
plexioned  and  regular-featured  of  them,  it  is 
reasonable  to  attribute  the  astonishing  structures 
scattered  about  the  regions  described.  That 
these  remains  assume  so  many  different  forms 
is  doubtless  due  to  their  varying  environment, 
but  it  is  remarkable  that  they  appear  generally 
to  be  so  out  of  proportion  with  the  restricted 
places  whereon  they  are  encountered.  It  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  if  a partial  subsidence 
of  these  culture  areas  did  take  place,  the  cul- 
ture would  be  bound  to  degenerate  with  its 
narrowed  locality.”  1 

Thus  it  is  that,  interwoven  with  man’s  inhabit- 
ing of  these  wave-lapped  Pacific  islands,  coasts, 
peninsulas,  archipelagoes,  there  have  been  mighty 
geological  changes.  What  is  the  real  explanation 
of  these  things?  What  unrecorded  Noahs  have 
journeyed  on  these  waters  ? However  it  may  be, 
there  are,  throughout  these  regions,  as  it  has  been 
well  put,  “ echoes  of  sublime  theogonies  and 
philosophies  which  are  still  heard  in  the  oral 
traditions  and  folklore  of  the  Polynesians.” 


1 See  Encyc.  Brit. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES 

The  voice  of  mythology  — A new  science  — Analogous 
romances — The  psalms  of  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians — 
The  Creation  myth  of  the  Hydahs — The  “ Redeemer  ” of 
the  Nootkas — The  copper  canoe — Emblems  of  the  Sun 
God — Flood  story  of  the  Okanagans — Scomalt — Deluge 
story  of  the  Melanesians — Qat  the  hero — Prayer  of  the 
voyager — General  belief  in  a Supreme  Being — Sun- 
worship — Roman  Catholic  mythology — Aboriginal  belief 
in  immortality  — Curious  customs  — The  couvarde  — 
Phallism — “ Indecent  ” Inca  images — Singular  custom  in 
Peri: — Scarab-worship  of  the  South  American  Chaco — 
Native  veracity — Travellers’  veracity — Missionaries’  good 
faith — Flood  stories — The  Book  of  Enoch  and  the 
Deluge — Theosophy  and  the  Central  American  ruins. 

The  field  of  mythology  and  the  numerous 
theogonies  of  the  regions  which  surround  the 
Pacific  Ocean — North  and  South  America,  Poly- 
nesia, Australasia — is  one  which  yields  a great 
amount  of  detail  in  endeavouring  to  establish  a 
connection  between  the  Old  World  and  the  New, 
and  doubtless  it  will,  in  the  future,  furnish  more 
abundant  material  for  analogy  as  it  becomes 
more  studied  and  recorded. 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  until  a com- 
paratively recent  date  the  study  of  mythology 

315 


316  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


was  but  a desultory  science.  It  was  “ hampered 
by  orthodox  notions  and  traditions,  and  even 
more  so  by  our  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  real 
natural  history  of  man  and  ignorance  of  the 
ancient  languages.”  Until  very  recent  times  these 
long-perished  tongues,  such  as  the  Babylonian, 
Egyptian,  and  Sanscrit,  were  books  sealed  and 
hidden,  and  it  is  only  as  a result  of  concentrated 
and  painstaking  effort— as  in  every  other  advance- 
ment of  knowledge— that  the  wise  men  of  the 
West  have  been  enabled  to  master  their  secrets. 
Further,  the  science  of  anthropology,  the  study  of 
the  development  or  evolution  of  human  institu- 
tions from  those  dark  ages  of  primitive  savagery 
towards  civilisation,  is  a new  one,  as  far  as 
welding  it  into  a system  goes. 

Probably  in  the  future  the  mystery  of  the 
distribution  of  analogous  myths  and  ancient 
stories,  practically  similar,  all  over  the  world, 
and  among  widely  separated  races,  will  be  ex- 
plained. We  shall  have  to  account  not  only  for 
the  origin  and  existence  of  these  strange  myths, 
but  also  for  their  presence,  apparently  indepen- 
dently, among  nations.  No  one  at  present  can 
affirm  that  these  myths  and  traditions  may  not 
have  spread  from  a single  and  common  source, 
on  the  one  hand,  or  affirm  that  they  were  not 
independent  inventions  on  the  other. 

Without,  however,  proceeding  farther  at  this 
moment  upon  that  line  of  thought,  let  us  cast 
a glance  at  some  of  these  religions  or  myth- 
ologies of  America,  Polynesia,  and  Australasia, 
and  at  some  of  the  curious  customs  which  seem 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  317 


to  offer  a link  of  universal  connection,  as  if 
derived  from  some  early  and  world-wide  cosmo- 
gony. We  have  Creation  stories,  Flood  stories, 
fables  of  virgin  births  and  of  shadowy  Redeemers 
in  great  profusion.  The  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions of  some  of  these  prehistoric  and  existing 
peoples  are  worthy  of  the  utterances  of  David 
or  Solomon,  veritable  psalms  of  beauty  and 
chaste  earnestness.  We  shall  always  be  re- 
minded, in  studying  them,  how  strongly  Nature 
and  natural  phenomena  appealed  to  the  primitive 
mind,  how  greatly  such  entered  into  their  lives. 
They  cultivated  an  abstract  world  which  we  of 
the  “ machine  age  ” of  the  advanced  nations  have 
left  behind  at  present ; they  were  in  touch  with 
Nature  in  a way  which  we  have  lost,  but  to 
which  we  shall  inevitably  have  to  return  before 
we  can  expect  to  learn  much  more  about  the 
origin  and  destiny  of  the  human  race.  This  will 
come,  and  having  shed  the  superstition  of  the 
savage,  gross  as  it  was,  and  the  selfishness  of 
the  moderns,  brutal  as  it  is,  we  shall  attain  to 
greater  knowledge.  Let  us  not  despise  the 
“ savage  ” races  or  their  mythologies ; they 
afford  useful  lessons  for  us. 

The  religious  systems  of  the  Mexicans  and  the 
Peruvians  have  been  considered  in  the  chapters 
devoted  to  those  particular  cultures,  and  they 
were  the  most  advanced  of  any  obtaining  among 
the  peoples  that  look  over  the  Pacific,  and, 
indeed,  were  in  some  respects  the  equal  of  the 
Oriental  nations.  The  prayer  of  the  Mexican 
prince  Nezahualcoyotl,  the  “ Solomon  of 


318  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


Anahuac,”  in  which  his  oppressed  spirit  ques- 
tions the  use  of  false  gods,  acknowledges  and 
insists  upon  the  existence  of  a supreme  being, 
and  seeks  consolation  for  those  acute  sufferings 
of  the  spirit  which  philosophy  brings,  has  been 
quoted,  and  it  is  only  one  of  various  prayers  of 
that  time  and  place.  The  beautiful  Inca  address 
to  the  Creator  is  one  which  similarly  arrests  the 
attention,  as  asking  for  support  and  enlighten- 
ment amid  the  doubts  and  shadows  of  the  dark 
and  difficult  world  in  which  thinking  man  of 
whatever  age  or  country  finds  he  is  plunged, 
and  from  which  he  can  only  escape  by  the 
exercise  of  the  things  of  the  mind. 

The  Hydah  Indians  of  British  Columbia  believe 
in  a Solar  Spirit  as  the  great  Creator  and  Supreme 
ruler.1  They  do  not  compare  this  spirit  with  the 
material  sun,  which  is  regarded  as  a thing  apart. 
This  reminds  us  of  the  Inca  beliefs.  The  Nootkas, 
the  neighbouring  British  Columbian  tribe,  have 
a tradition  of  a supernatural  teacher  and  bene- 
factor, an  old  man  who  came  to  them  in  Nootka 
Sound  long  ago,  in  a canoe  of  copper  with 
copper  paddles,  and,  indeed,  everything  of  copper 
about  him.  He  landed,  and  informed  the  people 
that  he  came  from  the  sky,  instructed  them  in 
many  things,  and  told  them  that  their  country 
would  eventually  be  destroyed — that  they  should 
all  die,  but  rise  up  after  death  and  live  with 
him  above. 

This  angered  the  people,  and  they  killed  the 
prophetic  messenger,  a crime  which  brought 
1 Vide  Bancroft,  “ Native  Races.” 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  319 


them  some  material  benefit,  as  ever  since  copper 
and  its  use  have  remained  with  them.  Huge 
images  carved  in  wood  still  stand  in  the  Nootka 
houses,  intended  to  represent  the  form  and  hold 
in  remembrance  the  visit  of  this  old  man— 
by  which  visit  is  not  improbably  intended  to  be 
signified  an  avatar  or  incarnation  of  that  chief 
deity  or  great  spirit  worshipped  by  many  Cali- 
fornian tribes  as  “ the  Old  Man  above.”  1 
Bancroft  quotes  from  another  author,2  who 
describes  “ a painted  and  ornamented  plate  of 
native  copper,  some  feet  by  2\  feet,  kept 
with  great  care  in  a wooden  case  by  the  tribe 
at  Fort  Rupert,  which  was  highly  prized.”  There 
is  no  explanation  as  to  how  this  copper  came 
among  them.  Probably  it  was  from  a piece  of 
native  copper  hammered  out,  for  it  is  to  be 
recollected  that  the  metal  exists  freely  in  a 
natural  state  in  the  northern  parts  of  North 
America.  “ This  plate  of  copper  was  oval  in 
shape,  painted  with  curious  devices,  eyes  of  all 
sizes  being  especially  conspicuous.  Similar 
sheets  of  copper  are  described  by  Schoolcraft,  as 
in  use  among  certain  of  the  Vesperic  aborigines. 
May  they  not  all  be  intended  for  symbols  of  the 
sun  such  as  that  reverenced  by  the  Peruvians  ? ” 
We  shall  recollect,  in  this  connection,  that  an 
elliptical  plate  of  gold  was  placed  on  the  wall 
of  the  temple  at  Cuzco,  as  representing  the  Deity. 

The  Okanagans— another  of  the  tribes  of  the 
North  American  Pacific  coast  region — says  Ban- 
croft, believe  in  a good  spirit  or  Master  of  Life, 
1 Bancroft.  2 Lord,  Naturalist , vol.  ii. 


320  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


and  in  a bad  spirit ; also  they  have  their  great 
mythical  ruler  and  heroine,  Scomalt,  whose  story 
is  intimately  connected  with  a kind  of  fall  or 
paradise  lost.  Long  ago,  so  long  ago  that  the 
sun  was  quite  young,  and  no  bigger  than  a star, 
there  was  an  island  far  out  at  sea  called  the 
White  Man’s  Island,  inhabited  by  a white  race 
of  gigantic  stature,  governed  by  a tall,  fair 
woman,  a great  “medicine”  called  Scomalt.  At 
last  the  peace  of  the  island  was  destroyed  by 
war,  and  the  noise  of  battle  was  heard,  the  white 
men  fighting  with  each  other  ; Scomalt  was  very 
angry  ; she  rose  up,  declared  she  would  not  be 
vexed  any  more  with  them,  and  drove  the  rebel- 
lious ones  to  the  end  of  the  island,  which  she  broke 
off  and  pushed  out  to  sea.  Tossed  about  for 
days,  the  piece  of  land  drifted,  and  all  upon  it 
died  but  one  man  and  one  woman,  who  at  length 
were  able  to  make  a canoe,  and  after  paddling 
for  many  suns  they  came  to  land.  But  their 
whiteness  had  changed  to  a dusky  reddish  colour, 
and  all  the  people  of  the  continent,  who  are 
descended  from  them  are,  according  to  this 
legend,  of  that  colour  as  a result. 

Another  mythical  being  of  pre-human  race, 
the  hero  of  a Deluge  myth,  was  Qat,  of  the  Mela- 
nesians— that  black  people  of  mysterious  origin 
in  the  Pacific  Islands  and  Archipelagoes.  Qat, 
like  so  many  other  “ culture -heroes  ” — Quetzal- 
coatl  of  Mexico  and  Huirakocha  of  Peru,  for 
example — came  or  disappeared  mysteriously,  in 
his  departure  from  Vanua  Levu  Island,  and  white 
men  arriving  in  the  island  were  mistaken  for 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  321 


him.  The  Melanesian  mythology  contains  a 
prayer  to  Qat,  spoken  by  the  devotee  who  is 
supposed  to  be  in  danger  with  his  canoe,  quoted 
as  follows  : “ Qate  I Marawa  ! look  down  on 
me  ; smooth  the  sea  that  I may  go  safely ; beat 
down  the  crests  ; let  the  tide-rip  settle  down  away 
from  me,  that  I may  come  to  a quiet  landing- 
place.”  Thus  has  man,  in  all  ages,  prayed  that 
he  may  be  brought  to  his  “ desired  haven.” 

It  would  not  be  possible  here  to  recount  the 
numerous  myths  and  beliefs  of  the  various  tribes 
of  the  North  American  coast,  dealing  with  kin- 
dred matters,  but  they  appear  generally  to 
embody  some  belief  in  a lofty  or  Supreme  Being, 
mixed  up  with  more  or  less  barbarous  priest- 
craft. 

For  the  remarkable  prayers  of  the  Mexicans 
the  chapter  in  Bancroft  1 may  well  be  studied, 
as  well  as  Prescott.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in 
part  they  have  been  changed  by  Spanish 
chroniclers,  but  nevertheless  they  show  suffi- 
ciently the  innate  reverence  of  the  aboriginal 
heart,  and  a desire  for  communion  with 
Omnipotence,  which  they  expressed  in  what 
form  they  could. 

As  regards  sun-worship,  the  extensive  practice 
of  this  in  both  the  New  and  the  Old  Worlds 
might  well  be  taken  as  an  argument  for  early, 
association.  But  we  must  recollect  that  it  is  a 
very  natural  religion.  When  we  have  stood,  as  I 
have  often  stood,  upon  the  bleak  highlands  of  the 
Andes,  waiting  the  sun,  to  pursue  our  journey, 

1 “ Native  Races,”  vol.  iii. 

21 


322  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


shivering  until  his  warm  rays,  preceded  by  the 
rose -tints  of  the  dawn,  fall  upon  us,  we  shall 
appreciate  the  feeling  of  adoration  which  the 
native  felt  for  the  flashing  orb.  The  same  may 
be  said  for  Mexico.  In  the  highlands  the 
diurnal  change  of  temperature  is  very  marked, 
due  to  the  elevation,  and  the  early  morning  is 
often  bitterly  cold,  and1  until  the  sun  rises  there  is 
no  life  among  the  peones,  who  shiver  or  squat 
against  the  walls  of  their  adobe  huts,  waiting  the 
first  sun  rays. 

The  Polytheistic  religious  systems  of  the 
American  tribes  and  others  cannot  be  regarded 
as  “ uniquely  savage  ” necessarily  : recollecting 
the  heaven  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  nor  for 
that  matter  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to- 
day. The  array  of  saints  bulks  larger  in  the 
mind  of  the  poor  Mexican  or  Peruvian  than  the 
Supreme  Being,  and  the  hideous  fiends  depicted 
by  the  priests  in  these  countries— especially,  de- 
picted by  the  bedsides1  of  sinners,  waiting  to  carry, 
them  off  at  the  last  moment  !— are  certainly  not 
less  repulsive  than  the  evil  spirits  of  the  savage 
mythologies  of  the  Indians.  Pictures  of  serpents 
with  claws,  wings,  beaks  and  tails,  and  fiery 
eyes  are  sold  in  the  streets,  shops,  and  churches 
in  Spanish-American  towns,  and  the  mind  of 
many  a tender  maid  has  been  stocked  with 
horrors  thereby,  and  by,  demoniacal  teachings 
which  have  permeated  her  whole  life.  Even  the 
Protestant  Church  has  not  yet  outgrown  these 
influences. 

Into  the  details  of  their  metempsychosis,  and 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  323 


the  belief  in  immortality  of  the  early  American 
people,  it  would  be  impossible  to  enter  at  length 
here.  Those  who  are  interested  therein  will  find 
an  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  subject  in  Ban- 
croft’s work.1  We  shall  always  observe,  in 
studying  such  subjects,  how  the  accounts  and 
opinions  of  travellers  and  observers  differ,  at 
times  contradicting  each  other,  pulled  this  way 
or  that,  doubtless,  by  the  personal  equation. 
But  the  evidence  for  the  existence  of  the  abstract 
world  in  the  savage  mind  is  generally  stronger 
than  that  against  it.  Often  beautiful  and 
romantic  conceptions  are  held  ; often  they  are 
marred  by  some  serpent-trail  of  bestiality  or 
cruelty.  But  there  seems  to  be  in  these  myth- 
ologies generally  a kind  of  belief  in  poetic  justice 
and  triumphant  virtue. 

Among  curious  customs  of  the  Indians  of 
Central  California  that  of  the  couvarde  pre- 
vailed, that  curious  and  ludicrous  custom  which 
is  of  such  wide  occurrence.  When  childbirth 
comes  upon  a wife  the  husband  puts  himself  or 
is  put  to  bed,  and  there  lies  groaning  as  if  he 
were  experiencing  the  labour  pains  ; and  he  is 
nursed  and  tended  by  the  women  for  several  days 
with  as  much  seriousness  and  care  as  if  he  were 
the  real  sufferer.  This  proceeding,  which  seems 
so  ridiculous,  may  have  arisen  from  some  native 
philosophy  or  from  the  custom  in  primitive 
peoples  of  all  ages,  in  which  in  early  family  life 
descent  and  heritage  were  considered  as  coming 
through  the  mother.  It  has  been  observed  by 
1 “ Native  Races,”  vol.  iii. 


324  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


different  travellers  in  Africa,  India,  China,  Borneo, 
and  elsewhere.  I have  heard  of  it  in  the  remote 
interior  of  Peru ; and  among  the  Mexicans 
to-day  it  is  a common  belief  that  the  husband 
feels  unwell  at  the  time  his  wife  falls  sic,k  in 
pregnancy  ! 

It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  note  that  phallism, 
that  form  of  Nature-worship  based  on  the 
generative  and  reproductive  powers  of  man,  asso- 
ciated with  Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Hindus,  and 
others,  obtained  also  in  early  Peru,  Mexico,  and 
Central  America,  showing  that  the  worship  of 
the  reciprocal  principles  of  Nature  was  world- 
wide. The  sculptures  upon  some  of  the  Central 
American  buildings,  when  first  seen  by  some  of 
the  foremost  students  of  that  region,1  were  found 
to  represent  membra  conjancta  in  coitu.  In  Peru 
the  attention  of  the  traveller  will  be  drawn  to 
the  “ indecent  ” relics  of  the  Incas,  in  small 
moulded  or  sculptured  images  recovered  from 
the  huacas  or  tombs.  I have  had  such  offered 
me  in  sale  by  native  women,  who,  however,  saw 
nothing  remarkable  about  them,  and  if  I blushed 
they  did  not.  The  monolithic  pillars  of  early 
America,  especially  at  Copan,  are  considered  to 
be  emblems  of  this  form  of  worship,  and  are 
described  as  similar  to  the  sculptured  phallus- 
pillars  of  the  East.  Images  found  in  various 
parts  of  Mexico  and  Peru  are  remarkable  for 
their  bestial  character  often.  They  are  to  be 
seen  both  in  museums  and  in  the  possession  of 
Indians  in  remote  districts,  recovered  from  burial - 
1 Stephens  and  Catherwood.  See  Bancroft. 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  325 


places,  and  whether  they  represent  mere  per- 
nicious caprice  on  the  part  of  their  makers,  or 
whether  they  have  some  emblematic  significance, 
it  is  impossible  to  say.  As  a rule,  or  at  least  as 
far  as  my  observation  goes,  the  Indians  of 
Spanish-American  countries  are  not  by  nature 
indecent-minded,  but  modest. 

I do  not  know  whether  it  would  be  admissible 
to  endeavour  to  trace  any  connection  with  the 
Old  World  through  the  phallic  cult — if  such  it 
is  and  may  be  termed — unconsciously  followed 
by  the  native  arrieros  and  messengers  in  the 
Peruvian  interior.  It  is  to  be  recollected  that 
Hermes,  among  the  Greeks,  was  the  protector 
of  travellers  and  the  god  of  roads  and  doorways, 
and  his  images  were  used  as  boundary-marks. 
In  certain  places  a phallus  served  as  his  emblem. 
It  was  usual  to  form  a cairn  of  stones  round  or 
near  his  images,  every  wayfarer  adding  one.  In 
my  journeys  in  Peru  I observed — as  any  traveller 
would— the  custom  of  the  mule-drivers  in  deposit- 
ing, upon  reaching  the  summits  of  passes,  a stone 
to  the  heap  of  stones  and  pebbles  which  had 
accumulated  there,  generally  around  the  wooden 
cross  often  placed  at  such  points.  I have  noticed 
them  descend  from  their  mule  even  before  reach- 
ing the  spot  to  select  a stone  for  the  purpose.; 
Questioning  them  on  various  occasions  as  to  this, 
they  replied  that  it  was  an  ancient  custom,  and 
further,  that  it  was  done,  they  said,  as  a test 
of  the  fidelity  of  their  wives  in  their  absence  ; 
for  if  on  the  return  journey  homewards  the  stone 
they  had  placed  there  was  undisturbed  their 


326  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


women  had  been  faithful ; otherwise  the  husband 
had  been  betrayed,  and  upon  reaching  his 
habitation  it  was  likely  that  castigation  would 
be  given  to  the  unfortunate  woman  ! 

The  Indians  of  the  Chaco — that  enormous  and 
savage  region  of  South  America — removed  from 
the  Andes,  and  its  old  civilisation  was,  never- 
theless, probably  influenced  in  earlier  times  by 
the  Incas,  who  may  have  penetrated  into  parts 
of  the  continent  of  which  all  traces  are  now 
lost.  That  the  Incas  did  influence  the  peoples 
of  the  Montana  or  upper  forest  regions  is  well 
established.1 

The  religious  beliefs  of  the  Chaco  people 
embody  the  idea  of  the  Creation,  and  singularly 
enough  they  regard  the  beetle  as  the  symbol  of 
the  creative  power,  a feature  of  their  mythology 
which  is  remarkable  in  its  close  resemblance  to 
the  Egyptian  Scarabaeus,  says  a writer  in  a 
book  recently  published.2  “ The  Creator  of  all 
things  spiritual  and  material  is  symbolised  by 
a beetle  among  these  people.  The  Creator  in 
the  guise  of  the  beetle — having  first  created  the 
material  universe — sent  forth  from  its  hole  in 
the  earth  a race  of  powerful  beings  who  for 
a time  appear  to  have  ruled  the  universe.  After- 
wards the  beetle  formed  man  and  woman  from 
the  clay  which  it  threw  up  from  its  hole,  and 
they  were  sent  forth  into  the  world  joined  to- 
gether like  the  Siamese  twins.  They  met  with 

1 See  my  book  “ The  Andes  and  the  Amazon.” 

2 “An  Unknown  People  in  an  Unknown  Land,”  W.  B. 
Grubb,  London,  1911. 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  327 


persecution  from  their  powerful  predecessors,  and 
accordingly  appealed  to  the  creating  beetle  to 
free  them  from  their  disadvantageous  formation. 
He  therefore  separated  them,  and  gave  them 
power  to  propagate  their  species  so  that  they 
might  become  numerous  enough  to  withstand 
their  enemies.  It  then  appears  that  some  time 
after  this  the  first-created  powerful  beings  dis- 
appeared, and  the  beetle  ceased  to  take  an  active 
part  in  affairs  of  the  world.  It  is  rather  re- 
markable when  we  consider  that  they  have 
no  written  records,  and  no  system  of  carefully 
transmitted  traditions,  that  they  should  retain  a 
belief  in  an  original  Creator  and  in  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul.  Representations  of  the  beetle 
and  figures  associated  with  it  are  the  most 
common  mythological  drawings  on  the  gourds 
of  these  people.  They  regard  the  soul  as  im- 
mortal, but  as  simply  a continuation  of  the 

present  in  a disembodied  condition.” 

This  writer  draws  attention  to  the  analogy  of 
the  Chaco  beetle  myth  with  that  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  quotes  the  “ Dictionary  of  the  Bible.”  1 The 
beetle  myth  is  spoken  of  : ‘‘  Out  of  the  mud 

which  the  Nile  left  in  its  flooding  men 

saw  myriad  forms  of  life  issue.  That  of  the 
Scarabaeus  was  the  most  conspicuous.  It  seemed 
to  them  self -generated,  called  into  being  by  the 
light,  the  child  only  of  the  sun.  Not  only  in 
Egypt,  but  in  Etruria  and  Syria  and  other 

countries  the  same  strange  emblem  appeared.” 
In  observing  the  nature  of  customs  of  remote 
1 Smith. 


328  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


lands,  the  traveller  is  himself  sometimes  a biassed 
personage.  He  may  be  influenced  in  his  investi- 
gations, at  times  unconsciously,  to  represent 
things  as  he  would  rather  they  were  than  cold- 
bloodedly to  render  their  exact  scientific  value. 
This  was  very  marked  in  the  early  Spanish  mis- 
sionaries, who  were  often  divided  in  their  desire 
on  the  one  hand  to  denounce  the  “ idolatrous 
customs  ” of  natives,  or  to  make  the  aboriginal 
rites  and  fables  conform  with  “ revelation  ” on 
the  other — the  revelation,  that  is,  of  the  Christian 
doctrines.  This  was  especially  the  case  in 
Spanish  America.  For  a long  time  in  Peru  there 
existed  a stone  with  a mysterious  mark  upon 
it,  which,  however,  the  Spanish  priests  explained 
as  being  a miraculous  footprint  of  one  of  the 
apostles,  who,  they  averred,  must  have  visited 
that  region  ! Even  in  modern  times  the  mis- 
sionary has  sometimes  eagerly,  set  out  to  prove 
that  the  myths  of  his  heathen  flock  are  but  a 
corrupted  version  of  Biblical  happenings,  and 
that  this  or  that  myth  is  corroborative  of  this 
or  that  Scriptural  incident ; or,  on  the  other 
hand,  he,  with  professional  zeal,  teaching  that 
religion  can  only  come  by  revelation,  will  pooh- 
pooh  the  native  myths,  and  exclaim  that  they 
contain  no  religion  at  all.  In  the  one  case  he 
falls  into  the  condition  of  accommodating  all 
he  hears  to  what  he  terms  “ the  truth,”  and  in 
the  other  despises  or  neglects  the  study  of  the 
myths  of  his  savage  flock.  Thus  missionaries 
are  sometimes  biassed. 

It  would  not,  however,  be  fair  to  make  this 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  329 


indictment  against  all  missionaries  ; for  it  is  a 
well-known  fact,  and  especially  as  regards  the 
Pacific  Isles,  that  missionaries  have  been  the 
medium  for  a great  deal  of  our  scientific  know- 
ledge— knowledge,  obtained  during  their  praise- 
worthy work  and  self-sacrifice,  which  otherwise 
would  have  been  lost  to  science.  Moreover,  the 
ordinary  or  the  scientific  traveller  who  is  not 
a missionary  may  incur  equally  grave  errors. 
He  may  be  on  the  one  hand  a sentimentalist,  or, 
on  the  other,  a materialist.  The  first  attitude 
will  cause  him  to  read  Divine  meanings  into 
myths  and  customs  which  are  entirely  un- 
warranted, whilst  the  other,  believing  nothing 
except  what  “ the  evidence  of  his  senses  ” affords, 
cannot  admit  anything  noble  or  lofty  in  the 
mind  of  the  poor  savage,  and  derides  any 
supposed  glimmerings  of  the  notion  of  a God 
in  his  myths  and  altars.  Another  type  of 
traveller  is  he  who  puts  versions  of  Biblical  or 
historical  matters  into  his  native  informant’s 
mouth  by  suggestion,  and  who,  in  the  very  act 
of  asking  how  the  Creation  of  the  world  came 
about,  or  if  they  had  ever  had  a Flood  and  if  any 
one  was  saved  and  how,  is  perhaps  furnishing 
the  savage  with  an  opportunity  for  romancing 
in  the  suggestion  advanced  : something  he  had 
never  thought  of  before. 

Further,  the  good  faith  of  the  traveller  must 
be  above  suspicion,  and  to  give  weight  to  his 
evidence  this  must  be  established,  as  well  as  his 
means  of  communicating  with  the  savage  or 
native,  and  his  judicial  powers.  It  has  even  been 


330  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


stated  that  such  evidence  is  most  valuable  when 
given  by  ignorant  men,  who  are  astonished  at 
meeting  with  things  that  ethnologists  are  already 
familiar  with  in  different  parts  of  the  globe.  Also 
“ undesigned  coincidences  ” are  valuable,  cor- 
roborating the  observations  of  travellers,  ancient 
and  modern.  But  the  traveller,  whoever  he  may 
be,  who  has  an  open  and  sympathetic  mind  to- 
wards the  native,  will  find  how  often  he  will 
meet  him  in  conversation  as  man  to  man,  when 
mutual  confidence  has  been  earned  and  neither  is 
imposing  upon  the  other.  From  my  own  ex- 
perience of  natives  or  aborigines,  I do  not  think 
they  are  generally  liars,  or  prone  to  inventions 
of  stories.  As  a rule,  they  are  impressed  by 
natural  truths,  and  communicate  these  impres- 
sions rather  than  employing  ingenuity  to  fabricate 
things.  Their  natural  tendency  is  to  tell  the  truth 
rather  than  otherwise,  and  they  are  less  prone 
than  “ civilised  ” man  to  distort  facts.  The  de- 
liberate garbling  or  falsification  of  news  is  foreign 
to  the  “ Indian  ” character.  The  political  and 
Press  liars,  who  are  so  marked  a feature  of 
English  and  American  life,  in  which  circum- 
stances are  wilfully  distorted  to  serve  certain 
ends,  are  a growth  of  civilisation.  The  Indian 
generally  tells  you  what  he  really  sees  or  thinks. 
He  often  has  admirable  traits  of  fidelity  and 
accuracy.  In  Spanish-American  countries,  such 
as  Peru  and  Mexico,  there  is  abundant  oppor- 
tunity for  observing  this  fact  when  the  traveller 
is  in  a position  and  of  a disposition  to  come  into 
direct  contact  with  the  aborigines.  The  mestizo, 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  331 


or  person  of  mixed  Spanish  and  native  blood, 
of  whom  the  higher  classes  consist  in  the  main, 
is  far  more  “ ingenious  ” in  the  matter  of  twisting 
facts  to  his  own  advantage,  and  his  native  sense 
of  honour  is  far  below  that  of  the  raza  conquis - 
tada,  or  conquered  race.  The  modern  Spanish- 
American,  urbane  of  manner,  never  at  a loss  for 
words  and  reasons,  often  hospitable  and  perhaps 
too  fulsomely  courteous,  will  sometimes  close 
an  agreement  with  you  and  cheat  you  afterwards 
if  he  can  : a thing  the  Indian  would  not  do. 

As  I have  remarked  elsewhere,  extreme  pains- 
taking care  marks  the  Mexican  or  Peruvian  Indian 
in  his  small  handicrafts,  or  in  his  methods  of  work 
and  observation.  I have  often  observed  this 
quality  with  surprise,  and  have  specially  noted 
the  fact  that  when  employed  to  act  or  inquire, 
their  information  was  generally  correct.  The 
attitude  of  the  man  of  Spanish  or  mestizo  race 
towards  the  Indian  is  often  one  of  contempt, 
and  he  may  pretend  to  dismiss  your  own  charac- 
terising of  them  and  their  stories  with  a “ Son 
muy  mentirosas,  senor”  (“They  are  great 
liars  ’’).  It  is,  probable,  however,  that  when  they 
are  liars  they  have  in  the  main  learned  the  art 
of  perversion  of  the  truth  from  the  white  man. 
From  these  reasons  I believe  that  native  legends 
have  considerable  value.  They  are  not  “ Press 
notices,”  but  are  records  of  impressions. 

As  regards  myths  and  stories  concerning  the 
Flood,  these  are  seen  to  be  common,  and  “ a 
conspectus  of  illustrative  Flood  stories  from 
different  parts  of  the  world  would  throw  great 


332  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


light  on  the  problems  before  us,”  says  a recent 
authority  on  the  subject.  The  Mexican  deluge 
myth  as  well  as  the  Tower  of  Babel  story  of 
Cholula  have  been  mentioned.  The  early,  Peru- 
vians had  an  “ inspired  llama  ” Flood-story,  of 
how  a llama  warned  its  master  of  a pending 
cataclysm  and  how  both  reached  the  peak  of  a 
hill  in  time  to  escape.  It  is  to  be  recollected 
that  the  Aztecs  and  the  Incas  both  inhabited 
regions  subject  to  flood,  the  first  in  the 
periodical  inundations  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico, 
which,  being  a hydrographic  entity,  had  no 
outlet,  and  the  others  in  the  appalling  tidal  waves 
that  have  devastated  the  Pacific  coast  of  South 
America  even  during  its  known  history,  as  a 
result  of  volcanic  or  tectonic  activity.  How- 
ever, the  North  American  tales  show  clearly 
“ that  the  deluge  is  properly  a second  creation, 
and  that  the  serpent  is  as  truly  connected  with 
the  second  chaos  as  the  first.  One  of  them,  too, 
gives  a striking  parallel  to  the  Babylonian  name 
Hasis-Andra  (the  Very  Wise)  whence  comes  the 
corrupt  form  Xisuthrus  ; the  deluge  hero  of  the 
Hare  Indians  is  called  Kunyan,  the  intelligent. 
Polynesia  also  gives  us  most  welcome  assistance, 
for  its  Flood  stories  still  present  clear  traces  of 
the  primitive  imagination  that  the  sky  was  a 
great  blue  sea,  on  which  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  (or  constellations)  were  voyagers.”  The 
prevalence  of  deluge  stories  among  North 
American  myths — which  often  “ distinctly  con- 
nect serpents  with  the  deluges  ” — is  well  known,1 
1 See  “ Deluge  ” in  the  last  edition  of  the  Encyc.  Brit. 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  333 


and  the  temptation  to  think  that  they  may  all 
have  had  in  remote  ages  a common  source  is 
strong.  Serpent  worship  all  over  the  world, 
from  Mexico  to  Asia,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and 
Scandinavia  in  extremely  remote  times,  certainly 
seems  to  give  an  idea  of  some  ancient  universal 
cult. 

A study  of  myths,  far  beyond  what  it  would 
be  possible  in  these  pages  even  to  hint  at,  shows 
how  similar  such  may  be  among  nations  far 
removed  from  each  other — the  Semitic  and 
Indo-European  races,  the  Australians,  the  South 
Sea  Islanders,  the  Eskimos  and  the  Zulus,  the 
Mexicans,  the  Peruvians — as  if  they  had  been 
handed  on  throughout  great  extensions  of  time. 
The  question  arises  as  to  whether  such  things 
are  purely  “ human,”  and  have  arisen  indepen- 
dently from  the  savage  state  of  the  intellect  and 
are  but  the  early  products  of  the  evolving  mind, 
or  whether  their  diffusion  is  due  to  transmission 
and  borrowing.  Some  may  argue  that  myths 
could  spring  up  anywhere,  and  as  time  went  on 
become  part  of  accepted  beliefs  and  literature. 

In  the  consideration  of  this  subject  we  may, 
if  we  desire,  enter  into  the  realm  of  the  mystic 
and  the  prophetic,  of  Theosophy  and  theology. 
I will  quote  here  from  a singular  and  interest- 
ing book  by  Kenealy  1 in  which  are  frequent 
references  to  the  lost  continent  of  Atlantis  in  con- 
nection with  Enoch,  and  the  statement  that  part 

1 “ Enoch  : the  Second  Messenger  of  God,”  Edward  V.  H. 
Kenealy,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  London,  187a,  which  I happened  to 
come  across  after  concluding  this  book.  (See  also  page  43). 


334  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


of  the  writings  of  Enoch  “ is  a prediction  of 
the  Atlantean  Deluge.”  “ From  the  description 
of  what  happened  to  Enoch  in  the  first  chapter 
of  his  book  it  is  evident  that  he  was  one  of  the 
trusted  priests  of  the  temple  ; a night -watcher 
or  astrologue  of  the  highest  degree,  called  by 
the  Phoenicians  ‘ contemplators  of  the  heavens.’ 
The  great  eminence  to  which  he  rose  in  astro- 
nomical and  scientific  knowledge  entitles  us  to 
believe  that  he  was  of  supreme  rank  among  the 
wisest  men  of  his  era.” 

The  following  is  the  passage  referred  to,  which 
I quote  from  the  version  given  by  this  author  : — 

“ Destruction  is  but  the  prelude  to  Renewal ; 

Death  is  but  the  portal  of  Life  ; 

Every  truth  must  be  made  anew. 

Behold  I saw  the  Heaven  in  a blaze  of  purity, 

And  I saw  the  Earth  absorbed  into  an  Abyss, 

The  rolling  sphere  inclined, 

The  moment  of  destruction  was  at  hand  ; 

Mountains  suspended  over  mountains, 

Hills  sinking  upon  hills, 

Lofty  trees  toppled  headlong, 

They  sank  downwards  into  chasms  ; 

My  voice  faltered,  I cried  out  and  spake  : 

‘ Lo  the  earth — it  is  destroyed  ! ’ ” 

Exceptionally  beautiful  are  the  words  preced- 
ing the  passage,  in  which  Enoch  describes  his 
vision  of  the  past,  how  he  saw  a city  splendid 
with  gold  and  marble,  with  stately  towers, 
palaces,  and  temples,  how  he  asked  the  guardian 
of  the  gate  how  long  the  city  had  stood  there, 
and  received  the  reply  that  it  had  stood  there 
always,  and  would  always  stand,  years  without 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  335 


number.  Then  a cloud  rolled  over  him  ; a thou- 
sand years  passed  ; he  sought  the  city  again,  only 
to  find  a desert  where  it  had  stood.  Asking  a 
wanderer  whom  he  met  where  the  noble  city  was, 
he  received  the  reply  that  no  city  had  ever  stood 
there — desert  it  had  been  always.  Another  cloud 
and  another  thousand  years,  and  seeking  the 
desert,  he  found  a forest,  and  asking  one  who 
reclined  beneath  a tree  as  to  the  departed  desert, 
was  told  that  no  desert  had  ever  existed,  that 
a forest  had  always  been  there  and  would  greenly 
flourish  there  until  the  end  of  time.  Again  a 
cloud  and  a thousand  years,  and  seeking  the 
forest,  Enoch  found  tents  and  smiling  plains, 
flocks,  herds,  children  playing  among  flowers,  and 
asking  a venerable  father  how  long  those  sweetly- 
blooming  fields  had  existed,  learned  that  they 
had  always  been  there,  from  the  first  moment  of 
the  world.  Once  more  a cloud  and  a thousand 
years  and  going  that  way  again,  behold  ! a great 
ocean  rolling,  with  huge  billows,  and  no  sign 
of  life  save  a solitary  man  in  a boat,  who  in 
reply  to  Enoch’s  inquiry  as  to  where  were  the 
tents  and  smiling  landscape,  replied  : “ Thou 

dreamest  ; there  are  no  fields  nor  tents,  nor  ever 
have  been,  but  from  the  first  these  waves  have 
rolled  over  the  boundless  deeps  beneath  ; and 
they  shall  roll  for  ever  and  ever,  unchanged  and 
mighty  as  they  now  be.”  I have  condensed  this 
passage  from  the  original. 

Enoch  the  Prophet,  the  second  messenger 
from  God  to  man,”  the  author  says,  “ was  called 
the  Prophet  because  he  first  made  known  to 


336  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


the  initiated  in  the  mysteries  the  terrible  con- 
vulsion which  buried  Atlantis  in  the  bottom 
of  the  sea — part  of  the  extraordinary  prophecy 
relating  to  the  Flood.  ‘ And  I saw  that  the 
earth  became  inclined.’  This  is  a most 
extraordinary  assertion,  that  the  Flood  was 
caused  by  the  disturbance  of  the  axis  of  the  earth, 
and  is  totally  original  and  unexpected.  I look 
upon  it  as  a very  curious  and  ancient  tradi- 
tion respecting  the  cause  of  the  Flood,  which 
has  been  considered  to  have  been  its  real  cause 
by  many,  both  of  the  ancient  and  modern  philo- 
sophers. Few  persons  who  have  read  the  Book 
of  Enoch  will  deny  that  this  is  a most  curious 
and  striking  tradition.” 

It  is  to  be  recollected,  in  this  connection,  that 
recent  authorities  describe  a much  later  date 
and  varied  authorship  for  the  Book  of  Enoch. 

In  the  above-mentioned  book — and  it  is  really 
the  object  of  quoting  it  here— there  are  many, 
allusions  to  a connection  between  the  ancient 
world  of  Asia  and  the  old  civilisation  of 
Mexico  and  Peru,  some  of  which  I quote  here, 
in  which  the  old,  well-worn  arguments  are 
given. 

“ All  the  traditions  maintain  that  a person 
whom  we  call  Noah,  by  some  means,  no  matter 
what  they  were,  foresaw  that  destruction  ap- 
proached. Tradition  says  that  he  erected  pillars 
with  inscriptions  in  the  land  of  Suri-Ad,  or  the 
Holy  Sura.  . . . Now,  if  we  suppose  that  ruin 
did  not  happen  in  a moment,  but  that  a year,  or 
even  more  time,  was  required  to  effect  the  whole 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  337 


by  successive  earthquakes,  is  it  not  possible,  if 
such  a scientific  and  sacerdotal  Government 
existed  as  I have  contemplated,  that  the  Supreme 
Pontiff  and  the  Court  may  have  saved  themselves 
and  their  sacred  literature  in  a ship  or  floating 
house?  . . . And  why  should  not  the  axis  of 
the  earth  have  become  changed  to  its  utmost 
extreme  by  earthquake  shocks  ? . . . hundreds 
or  thousands  of  years  before,  and  the  last  shock 
a very  moderate  one,  just  enough  to  sink 
Atlantis?  . . . The  result,,  says  Nimrod, 

(iv.  91),  arising  from  the  earth’s  new  axis 
was  a vicissitude  of  climate  such  as  had  never 
been  known  before,  siccis  aer  fervoribus  ustus, 
canduit,  et  ventis  glacies  adstricta  perpendit. 
Then  first  the  air  began  to  glow  with  dry  heats 
and  the  ice  hung  bound  by  the  winds  (Ov. 
Met.  i.  1 19).  The  change  of  seasons  introduced 
a remarkable  change  in  Nature.  . . . This 
proves  that  the  author  of  Nimrod  had  no  doubt 
of  the  Atlantean — that  is,  the  true — deluge.  A 
further  observation  may  be  made  on  the  signs 
of  the  secret  things,  that  we  find  traces  of  them 
still  in  the  strange,  unknown  idols  and  char- 
acters of  the  Central  cities,  and  their  long-lost 
inhabitants — idols  and  characters  which  to  the 
Spaniards  appeared  magical,  and  so  they 
hastened  to  destroy  them.  These  characters 
have,  in  many  cases,  resemblances  also  to  the 
primeval  Tartarian  figures.  Hence  we  find 
Humboldt  exclaiming  that  striking  analogies 
exist  between  the  monuments  of  the  old  con- 
tinents and  those  of  the  Toltecs,  who,  arriving 

22 


338  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


on  Mexican  soil,  built  these  colossal  structures, 
truncated  pyramids,  divided  by  layers,  like  the 
temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon.  Whence  did  they 
take  the  model  of  these  edifices?  Were  they  of 
the  Mongol  race?  Did  they  descend  from  a 
common  stock  with  the  Chinese  and  the 
Japanese  ? It  is  now  confessed  that  the  original 
colonists  of  the  Central  Americas  came  from 
Asia,  which  contains  all  the  physical  and  mental 
prototypes  of  the  race.1  Language,  mythology, 
religion,  dogma,  their  style  of  architecture,  and 
their  calendar  as  far  as  it  is  developed,  point  to 
that  fruitful  and  central  source  of  human  dis- 
persion and  nationality.  Can  it  be  doubted  that 
after  this  Enochian  priests  carried  this  religion 
into  the  American  continent?” 

A further  passage  says  : “No  unprejudiced 
person  can  doubt,  when  he  has  considered  all  the 
circumstances  of  similarity  which  have  been 
pointed  out  between  the  natives  of  Mexico  and 
the  Asiatics,  that  the  former  were  originally 
peopled  from  the  latter  by  means  of  ships,  and 
not  by  passing  by  an  almost  impassable  passage 
over  the  frozen  region  near  the  North  Pole.  . . . 
Was  Columbus  the  first  discoverer  of  America, 
or  did  he  only  redeem  the  continent  after 
it  had  in  remote  ages  been  found,  peopled,  and 
forgotten  by  the  Old  World?  It  is  curious  that 
this  question  has  not  been  more  generally 
raised,  for  it  is  very  clear  that  the  people  whom 
Columbus  found  in  America  must  have  been 
descended  from  emigrants  from  the  Old  World, 
1 The  italics  are  by  the  author  quoted. 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  339 


and  therefore  America  was  known  to  the  Old 
World  before  Columbus’s  time.  Probably  this 
communication  took  place  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  world  to  ours,  between  the  eastern  coast 
of  Asia  and  the  side  of  America  most  remote 
from  Europe,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Eastern  Asia  may  have  been 
aware  of  the  existence  of  America,  and  kept  up 
intercourse  with  it  while  our  part  of  the  Old 
World  never  dreamt  of  its  existence.  The  im- 
penetrable barrier  the  Chinese  were  always 
anxious  to  preserve  between  themselves  and  the 
rest  of  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  renders  it 
quite  possible  that  they  should  have  kept  their 
knowledge  of  America  to  themselves,  or  at  any 
rate  from  Europe.  The  objection  that  the  art 
of  navigation  in  such  remote  times  was  not  suffi- 
ciently advanced  to  enable  the  Chinese  to  cross 
the  Pacific  and  land  on  the  shores  of  America  is 
not  conclusive,  as  we  have  now  found  that  arts 
and  sciences  which  were  once  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  of  quite  modern  origin  existed  in 
China  ages  before  their  discovery  in  Europe. 
. . . Why,  then,  should  not  the  Chinese  have 
been  equally  or  more  in  advance  of  us  in  naviga- 
tion? . . . One  fact,  corroborative  of  the  idea 
that  the  Old  World,  or  at  least  some  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Asia,  were  aware  of  the 
existence  of  America  before  its  discovery  by 
Columbus  is  that  many  of  the  Arabian  writers 
are  fully  convinced  that  the  ancient  Arabian 
geographers  knew  of  America,  and  in  support 
of  this  opinion  point  to  passages  in  old  works  in 


340  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


which  a country  to  the  west  of  the  Atlantic 
is  spoken  of.  An  Arab  gentleman,  General 
Huessin  Pasha,  in  a work  he  has  just  written 
on  America,  called  “ En-Nessr-Et-Tayir,”  quotes 
from  Djeldeki  and  other  writers  to  show  this. 
There  is,  however,  amongst  Chinese  records,  not 
merely  vague  references  to  a country  to  the  west 
of  the  Atlantic  but  a circumstantial  account  of 
its  discovery  by  the  Chinese  long  before 
Columbus  was  born.  A competent  authority 
on  such  matters,  J.  Hanlay,  the  Chinese  inter- 
preter in  San  Francisco,  has  lately  written  an 
essay  on  this  subject,  from  which  we  gather  the 
following  startling  statements,  drawn  from 
Chinese  historians  and  geographers  : — 

“ ‘ Fourteen  hundred  years  ago  even  America 
had  been  discovered  by  the  Chinese  and  de- 
scribed by  them.  They  stated  that  land  to  be 
about  twenty  thousand  Chinese  miles  distant  from 
China.  About  five  hundred  years  after  the  birth 
of  Christ,  Buddhist  priests  repaired  there  and 
brought  back  the  news  that  they  had  met  with 
Buddhist  idols  and  religious  writings  in  the 
country  already.  Their  descriptions  in  many 
respects  resemble  those  of  the  Spaniards  a thou- 
sand years  afterwards.  They  called  the  country 
“ Fusany,”  after  a tree  which  grew  there,  whose 
leaves  resemble  those  of  the  bamboo,  whose  bark 
the  natives  made  clothes  and  paper  of,  and  whose 
fruit  they  ate.  These  particulars  correspond 
exactly  with  those  given  by  the  American 
historian  Prescott,  about  the  Maguey  in  Mexico.’  ” 
The  Mexican  maguey  (Agave  americana ) is 


WORLD-WIDE  AFFINITIES  341 


one  of  the  most  valuable  plants  in  Mexico,  put 
to  a wide  variety  of  uses,  and  the  source  of  great 
wealth  in  the  production  of  the  national  beverage 

pulqul.1 

The  above-quoted  writer  speaks  of  the 
“ religion,  peace,  security,  and  magnificent  struc- 
tures of  the  mighty  kingdom  of  Atlantis  ” as 
having  been  “ brought  from  Asia  into  Atlantis 
by  the  Enochian  religion,  from  which  it  diffused 
itself  throughout  the  vast  region  of  Central 
America.”  He  also  speaks  of  the  reason  of 
the  destruction  of  the  supposed  Atlantis,  attri- 
buted by  Nimrod  to  punishment  from  above  for 
the  vices  of  its  people,  and  quotes  Plato  as  to 
Nimrod,  that  the  Deluge  did  not  kill  the  Atlan- 
toidae,  but  sent  them  “ under  the  ground.”  This 
is  reminiscent  of  the  Mexican  flood  story  and 
hieroglyphics,  which  is  given  on  another  page. 

Mysticism,  indeed,  has  occupied  itself  a good 
deal  with  ancient  America  as  connected  with 
Asia,  and  in  the  works  of  the  famous  exponent 
of  Theosophy,  Madame  Blavatsky,2  some  curious 
inferences  are  drawn. 

The  present  book  was  in  the  press  when 
by  chance  I happened  to  open  “ Isis  Un- 
veiled ” and  “ A Modern  Panarion,”  works  I 
had  never  before  read,  and  did  not  know 
contained — like  Kenealy’s  “ Enoch  ’’—numerous 
references  concerning  the  origin  of  the  early 
American  civilisations.  These,  whilst  fantastic 

1 See  my  “ Mexico.” 

2 “ The  Secret  Doctrine,”  “ A Modern  Panarion,”  and 
“ Isis  Unveiled.” 


342  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


in  some  instances,  are  of  extreme  interest  in 
others,  both  as  concerns  the  early  Mexicans  and 
the  early  Peruvians,  and  their  supposed  connec- 
tion in  remote  times  with  Babylon  and  Egypt, 
by  early  voyagers  from  Asia,  as  well  as  with  the 
fabled  Atlantis.  These  theories,  of  course,  were 
dealt  with  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  Lord 
Kingsborough,  Le  Plongeon,  and  others  whose 
theories  have  been  discredited  or  derided.  The 
time,  however,  is  probably  passing  when 
it  is  necessary  to  deride  that  which  cannot  be 
explained  by  dogmatic  methods.  Imagination 
has  never  yet  received  its  due  as  a precursor  of 
fact  in  any  branch  of  science  or  human  work, 
but  its  value  is  being  more  greatly  recognised 
to-day. 

Perhaps  the  most  insistent  argument  of  the 
exponent  of  these  “ esoteric  ” views  is,  that  during 
the  gradual  sinking  of  Atlantis,  part  of  the 
Atlanteans  went  eastwards,  to  the  “ old  ” world, 
and  part  westwards  to  the  new,”  founding 
or  influencing  both  civilisations— a hypothesis 
which  at  least  has  the  merit  of  explaining  certain 
attributes  of  early  American  culture  which  offer 
at  present  great  difficulties  to  the  theory  of  an 
Asiatic  origin  alone. 

To  pursue  these  matters  of  affinities  and  com- 
parisons farther  here,  however,  is  but  to  travel 
in  a circle,  a mode  of  progression  which  no 
traveller  enjoys. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 

Anthropoid  to  architect — Necessity  for  more  research — A 
many-sided  subject — More  light  required — What  is  our 
foundation? — Teachings  of  archaeology — History  repeats 
itself — A dim  and  distant  stage — Retrospect  of  human 
movement — The  great  antiquity  of  mankind — An  endless 
argument — The  “All-Father” — A universal  culture  in 
remote  times — Babel  and  the  Flood — A golden  age — A 
universal  texture. 

Having  completed  the  survey,  literally  from 
China  to  Peru — and  investing,  perhaps,  that 
well-worn  simile  with  a new  meaning — it  remains 
to  sum  up,  or  rather  to  gather  together  the  main 
threads  of  this  far-reaching  problem.  The 
survey  is  a wide  one.  I entered  upon  it  with 
hesitation,  and,  in  concluding,  hope  that  in- 
dulgence will  be  accorded  to  its  inevitable  short- 
comings. From  anthropoid  to  architect,  from 
the  gibbering  savage  to  the  psalmist-supplicator 
of  the  “ Unknown  God,”  through  which  vast  field 
the  presence  or  evolution  of  man  in  these  Pacific- 
washed  lands  has  ranged,  is  indeed  a long 
journey ; and  if  any  excuse  is  needed  for  so 
ambitious  a task  it  must  be  in  the  fact  that  it 
has  not  been  attempted  before,  and  that  it  is 

313 


344  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


time  a more  intensive  effort  were  given  to  the 
solution  of  the  matter.  It  is  indeed  astonishing 
that  greater  popular  and  scientific  interest  has  not 
been  taken  in  this  subject. 

We  have  seen  how  extensive  and  alluring  is 
the  field  which  its  investigation  affords,  and  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  results  would  follow  a 
painstaking  and  minute  inquiry  into  all  the  factors 
and  conditions  connected  with  it.  An  example  of 
how  we  may  begin  to  lift  the  veil  from  the  past 
is  shown  by  a recent  work  1 dealing  with  the  dis- 
covery of  North  America  before  Columbus,  how, 
by  close  research,  old  facts  may  be  put  in  their 
true  light  and  new  facts  unearthed.  But  this 
can  only  be  carried  out  by  those  who  command 
full  leisure  and  the  wherewithal  for  its  accom- 
plishment. To  perform  it  adequately  we  should 
have  to  ransack  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and 
America,  not  only  on  library  shelves  but  in 
museums,  tombs,  ruins,  deserts,  and  moun- 
tains. Ample  time  and  a long  purse  are 
the  adjuncts,  coupled  with  that  philosophical 
love  of  the  past  doings  of  mankind— not 
simply  as  being  antique,  but  as  bearing  upon 
life  and  time  as  a whole,  which  furnishes  the 
true  detective -faculty  of  the  investigator — which 
will,  as  time  goes  on,  solve  the  Secret  of  the 
Pacific.  One  of  the  drawbacks  hitherto  has  been 
in  the  fact  that  those  who  have  been  foremost  in 
the  archaeological  study  of  the  Old  World  have 
not  dealt  much  with  that  of  the  New — perhaps 
they  have  despised  it — and  that  those  whose  field 
1 “ In  Northern  Mists,”  Nansen,  1911. 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 


345 


has  been  the  New  World  have  not  had  much 
knowledge,  except  perhaps  from  books,  of  the 
Old.  It  will  be  when  these  two  fields  of  know- 
ledge become  combined  in  the  same  study  that 
more  conclusive  results  may  be  looked  for. 

I am  well  aware  that  to  endeavour  to  describe 
the  monuments  of  early  America  and  the  Pacific, 
and  to  attempt  to  discuss  their  culture  areas  and 
origins  within  the  scope  of  a single  short  volume 
— matters  upon  which  in  their  separate  spheres 
a whole  library  has  been  written — was  a project 
difficult  of  attainment,  and  I have  contented 
myself  with  broad  outlines  mostly.  But  at  least 
others  may  be  stimulated  thereby  to  take  down 
their  maps,  encyclopaedias,  and  books  of  travel 
— perhaps  to  set  out  themselves — and  arouse  the 
somewhat  sluggish  English-speaking  public  to 
the  romance  which  ethnology  affords  in  this 
comparatively  little-trodden  field. 

Geological,  biological,  cultural — all  these  three 
phases  of  evolution  have  perforce  come  under 
consideration,  and  they  present  their  respective 
problems,  which  must  be  solved  in  the  future. 
The  question  of  the  former  disposition  of  the 
continents  ; their  connection  with  others  ; the 
“ land-bridges  ” between  them,  over  which  man 
or  his  ancestors  may  have  passed  ; the  disappear- 
ance of  continents  whose  inhabitants  have  had 
to  seek  another  refuge  ; the  vanishing  of  Atlantis 
— if  such  be  allowed  within  the  realm  of  the  pos- 
sible ; the  vanishing  of  a Pacific  continent — if 
this  also  may  be  debated— of  these  matters  we  have 
learned  practically  all  we  know  in  the  last  half- 


346  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


century  or  three-quarters  of  a century,  and  we 
have  much  to  learn  still. 

Biologically,  what  is  the  basis  of  our  know- 
ledge of  man’s  evolution  and  our  assigning  of 
his  probable  early  starting-point  or  cradle-land? 
Clever  and  elaborate  theories  and  reasonings  : 
and  a few  scattered  bones  of  a man-ape  in  a drift 
in  a Java  forest,  matters  which  can  scarcely  be 
looked  upon  as  more  than  a working  hypothesis, 
and  which  might  be  upset  by  some  discovery  to- 
morrow ! We  might  find  that  our  beliefs  as  to 
man’s  physical  beginnings  are  wrong.  Some 
turning  of  the  lane  of  science,  thought,  reason, 
may  endow  us  with  another  origin . 

Then,  as  to  man’s  cultural  evolution  and 
advancement,  upon  what  do  we  found  our 
knowledge  ? How  have  we  assigned  to  him  his 
first  habitations  and  communities  and  the  cradle 
of  civilisation?  Upon  archaeology,  which,  not 
much  more  than  a generation  or  two  ago,  read  the 
literature  of  Babylon  and  Egypt,  and,  by  estab- 
lishing some  missing  links  of  walls,  potsherds,  and 
papyri,  added  four  thousand  years  to  our  history. 
But  there  must  be  vast  periods  of  mankind’s 
activity,  all  over  the  world,  of  which  at  present 
we  know  nothing.  New  findings  of  antiquity  are 
being  made  rapidly,  and  we  believe  that  new  and 
perhaps  startling  discoveries  yet  lie  before  us  as 
regards  the  history  of  our  race. 

Furthermore,  it  would  seem  that  history  is  but 
repeating  itself  in  the  covering  of  the  globe  by, 
mankind.  When  we  consider  the  profuse  migra- 
tions of  peoples  in  very  early  days,  we  are  con- 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 


347 


fronted  with  the  fact  that  man  seemed  to  move 
about  over  the  earth  as  easily,  or  at  least  as 
freely,  then  as  in  these  days  of  railways  and 
steamers  ! At  any  rate,  we  to-day  are  but  repeat- 
ing the  migration  of  early  times.  The  world 
“ boiled  over  ” then  as  it  is  doing  to-day.  Arabs, 
Chinese,  Hindus,  Italians,  Germans,  British  are 
encountered  on  every  hand.  At  the  building  of 
the  Panama  Canal  at  the  present  time  we 
encounter  an  astonishing  mixture  of  races  : 
Japanese,  Chinese,  East  Indians  with  flowing 
beards  and  embroidered  caps  or  turbaned  heads, 
Arabs,  negroes,  British,  French,  Dutch  West 
Indian,  and  native  Spanish-American  Indians.  In 
North  America  the  Anglo-Saxon  peoples  are 
trying  their  best  to  keep  out  the  Asiatics,  whilst 
the  South  Americans  endeavour  to  attract  them. 
Even  in  remote  villages  and  mining  camps 
in  the  Andes  we  find  Arabs,  Austrians,  Chinese, 
Italians,  Spaniards,  Jews,  and  others,  generally 
engaged  as  shopkeepers,  in  the  congenial  occupa- 
tion of  making  money— and  this  as  a rule  by  the 
cheating  of  the  native  in  short  weights  and  high 
prices  : also  a very  ancient  custom  ! 

In  Asia  especially  history  shows  these  ebulli- 
tions and  migrations  of  people  have  taken  place 
in  remote  periods,  and  their  study  brings  convic- 
tion to  the  mind  of  the  great  antiquity  of  man- 
kind and  of  vast  periods  and  movements  of  which 
to-day  we  know  practically  nothing.  The 
shadows  of  past  peoples  and  empires  seem  to 
deploy  upon  their  stage  before  our  eyes  in 
strange  and  shadowy  array,  their  migrations, 


348  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


their  temples,  their  tombs  fading  away  into  the 
mists  of  some  Great  Period,  out  of  which,  from 
time  to  time,  the  spade  of  the  archaeologist 
reveals  new  fragments.  Let  us  be  assured  of 
one  thing.  There  have  been  happenings  in  those 
remote  times  which  will  startle  us  when  we  learn 
about  them,  as  inevitably  we  shall.  We  have 
yet  to  learn  things  of  mankind’s  history  which 
may  upset  some  of  our  ideas  to-day. 

When  we  come  to  sum  up  the  opinions  for 
and  against  the  influence  upon  and  peopling  of 
America  from  Asia  we  find  a preponderance  on 
the  affirmative  side.  The  position  of  those  who 
would  close  America  absolutely  to  prehistoric  in- 
fluence and  immigration  is  as  untenable  as  that 
of  those  who  would  close  it  against  foreign  immi- 
grants and  influence  to-day.  America  is  not,  and 
never  has  been,  a world  apart,  and  its  discovery 
by  Columbus  must  have  been  one  of  a series 
of  visits  made  to  the  twin  continents  since 
geology  rendered  them  an  entity.  America 
largely  draws  its  population  and  its  culture — 
both — from  the  Old  World  to-day,  and  must  have 
done  so  in  early  times. 

Whilst  it  is  not  the  intention  of  this  book  to 
affirm  or  deny,  I would  venture  to  urge  that  the 
“ open  door  ” to  ancient  Asia  be  maintained.  To 
isolate  the  three  Americas  throughout  the  enor- 
mous periods  that  have  elapsed  since  man  in- 
habited the  world  is  unnatural.  There  was  no 
such  purpose  in  Nature.  We,  ever  looking  for 
the  regeneration  of  mankind,  might  have 
cherished  the  illusion  that  America  was  to  be 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 


349 


reserved  as  the  clean  new  land  of  a selected 
race  from  the  Old  World,  a people  who 
might  have  made  a step  forward  in  civilisation 
and  in  lightening  the  burden  of  misery  and 
oppression  that  weighs  upon  mankind.  Was  it 
so?  Far  from  it.  The  United  States  have  but 
perpetuated,  and,  indeed,  exaggerated,  the  evils 
of  the  Old  World,  and  themselves  seem  to  show 
signs  of  decadence  already.  As  for  Spanish 
America,  its  communities  are  still  in  the  Middle 
Ages  of  social  life,  except  where  they  have,  in 
some  cases,  emerged  to  conditions  approxi- 
mating to  those  of  the  United  States  or  Europe. 
Nature  therefore  had  nothing  in  view  in  this 
respect  of  an  ideal  man  in  an  ideal  home,  and 
we  can  but  regard  the  three  Americas  as  part 
of  the  world  which  must  fight  its  way  on  con- 
jointly to  social  betterment. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  decade  of  this 
century  society  is  in  a marked  state  of  flux. 
We  may  expect  anything,  from  a world-wide 
revolution  of  labour  against  capital  to  the  total 
extinction  of  nationalities.  In  the  physical  world 
we  have  long  dwelt  in  security,  but  there  is  no 
guarantee  that  changes  might  not  occur,  such 
as  could  suddenly  alter  the  configuration  of  seas 
and  continents.  One  thing  is  certain— the  too 
material  culture  of  to-day  has  yet  to  yield  to 
something  nobler. 

In  considering  the  origin-myths  of  nearly  all 
the  ancient  peoples  dealt  with  in  this  book,  we 
are  struck  by  the  legends  so  commonly  occurring 
of  their  having  come  “ out  of  the  sea,”  or  of 


350  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


having  migrated  in  some  mysterious  manner  from 
some  forgotten  place,  and  this  inclines  the  fancy 
towards  distant  or  vanished  continents. 

When  we  glance  back  at  all  these  strange 
wanderings,  traditions,  and  legends  we  seem  to 
see  bands  of  ancient  people,  led  by  resolute 
patriarchs,  pressing  onward  through  mountain 
fastnesses  and  tangled  forests,  halting  painfully 
in  their  way  across  waterless  deserts,  settling 
here  and  there  where  smiling  valleys  spread  their 
allurements,  and  where  streams  gushed  forth 
from  the  hillsides.  We  seem  to  see  strange 
vessels  and  canoes  setting  forth  adventurously 
into  the  unknown,  manned  by  active  rowers, 
leaders  in  the  prow,  with  their  hands  shading 
from  their  eyes  the  rising  or  the  setting  sun, 
peering  anxiously  forward  to  catch  the  faint  blue 
line  of  hoped-for  land,  or  occasionally  turning 
a backward  glance  to  dim  shores  far  astern  which 
they  had  left  for  ever.  Into  the  strange  waters, 
whether  in  the  frigid  North,  whether  in  the  tropic 
seas  of  the  South,  they  must  have  urged  their 
frail  prows,  from  island  to  island,  from  promon- 
tory to  promontory,  or  even  venturing  across 
shoreless  seas,  voyages  which  have  left  little  more 
track  upon  history  than  they  did  upon  the  silent 
ocean  which  bore  them.  Again  we  mark  these 
eager  immigrants,  voyagers  no  longer,  wanderers 
no  longer,  busy  with  flint,  axe,  and  chisel,  quarry- 
ing, chipping,  and  carving  : turned  masons  now, 
and  bringing  to  being  examples  of  work  more 
wonderful,  in  comparison  with  their  resources, 
than  the  work  of  the  masons  to-day.  Look  at 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 


351 


them.  What  prodigies  of  art  they  are  performing  ! 
Mark  the  loving  care  with  which  they  fit  stone 
to  stone  ; behold  the  marshalling  of  strength  to 
raise  their  weighty  lintels,  pillars,  idols,  archi- 
traves. See  them  in  consultation,  bringing  to 
mind  the  figures  and  patterns  of  the  art  of  the 
lands  they  had  left,  striving  faithfully  to  repro- 
duce them,  delving  into  memory,  and  perhaps 
scanning  meagre  records  of  design  on  belts  and 
clothing  preserved  in  their  long  wanderings.  It 
may  not  be  a mere  flight  of  fancy  that  the  dis- 
persal of  the  people  of  the  Flood  and  the  famous 
Babel  Tower  holds  some  key  to  the  enigmas  of 
time  and  civilisation.  “ Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a 
city  and  a tower  that  will  reach  to  heaven.  Let 
us  make  a name,  lest  we  be  scattered  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  and  our  name  perish,”  must 
have  been  the  animating  motive,  in  great  part, 
of  the  Toltecs,  the  Aztecs,  the  Incas,  the  Poly- 
nesians, and  other  ancient  people  who  have  left 
their  strange  monuments  to  posterity. 

Among  nearly  all  the  ancient  myths,  as  we 
think,  of  peoples  removed  from  each  other  by 
vast  oceans  even,  myths  interwoven  and  disguised 
often  by  bloody  rites  and  hideous  and  idolatrous 
customs,  we  seem  to  trace  nobler  and  spiritual 
features  and  purer  beliefs,  as  if  behind  them, 
or  having  intertexture  with  them  like  the  gold 
threads  which  barbaric  weavers  wove  into  their 
textiles,  there  runs,  like  a redeeming  dream,  some 
constant  glimpse  of  an  “ All-Father.” 

Furthermore,  the  feeling  is  strong  that  all 
knowledge  has  come  from  some  primeval  centre, 


352  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 


and  that  the  myths  and  fragments  of  prehistoric 
times  which  we  find  scattered  about  the  world 
to-day  are  offshoots  or  remnants  of  such  a centre. 
There  must  have  been  something  in  the  remote 
past,  I venture  to  repeat,  about  which  we  have 
yet  to  learn,  something  which  may  astonish  and 
perhaps  elevate  us  when  we  have  learned  it, 
something  of  which  all  the  archaeological  dis- 
coveries we  are  constantly  making  are  perhaps 
only  as  the  leaves  of  a book  that,  page  by, 
page,  we  are  turning  over— a book  of  which 
we  have  had  to  begin  at  the  end.  ‘Was 
there  perhaps,  long  ago,  really  some  “ Golden 
Age,”  when  man  was  spread  over  the  earth 
and  lived  and  worshipped  in  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  its  kindly  fruits,  and  the  seeds  of  the 
Tree  of  Knowledge  were  scattered  far  and  wide— 
an  age  of  which  these  monuments  and  our 
philosophies  to-day  are  but  fragments  ? Has  man 
always  striven  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow  to  gain 
his  bread,  in  cruelty  and  oppression,  as  under 
Pharaoh  and  Belshazzar,  and  as  under  the 
‘‘machine  age”  of  to-day? 

The  possibility  of  some  world-wide  culture  in 
very  remote  times,  when  perhaps  continents  and 
islands  were  differently  disposed,  is  an  attractive 
romance,  perhaps  with  some  measure  of  actuality 
behind  it,  which  will  receive  greater  attention  as 
time  goes  on.  Scientific  theories  and  knowledge 
about  that  remote  and  mysterious  period  when 
man  appeared,  from  which  geology  and  ethnology 
are  slowly  taking  definite  shape,  may  wear  a very 
different  aspect  in  the  future.  At  any  moment 


A SUBLIME  COSMOGONY 


353 


new  discoveries  may  yield  something.;  Perhaps 
we  shall  be  right  in  thinking  it  all  part  of  a 
greater  problem  concerning  man  and  his  arts  in 
ancient  times,  all  over  the  world,  which  we  have 
yet  to  solve — part,  perhaps,  of  some  sublime  and 
universal  texture,  which  time  could  not  annihilate 
and  which  seas  and  deserts  were  insufficient  to 
sever.  But,  be  it  as  it  may,  the  answer  to  all  these 
problems  must  surely  be  revealed  sooner  or  later  ; 
and  the  final  solution  of  the  Secret  of  the  Pacific 
cannot  be  more  than  a question  of  time  and 
research. 


23 


INDEX 


Adobe  ruins,  160,  185 
Age  of  ruins,  46,  86,  152,  161, 
213,  299 
Ainos,  294,  301 
Akapana,  doorway  of,  17 1 
Alaska,  70,  312 
Aleutian  Islands,  67 
Amazon,  167,  168,  283 
Anahuac,  51,  97 
Andenes,  178-80,  183,  200 
Andes,  50,  57,  158,  240,  310 
Angkor-Thom,  299 
Anthropoid  apes,  24 
Apaches,  75 
Arch,  40,  128,  188,  208 
Arequipa,  193 
Argentina,  192 
Arizona,  79,  91,  216 
Asia,  68,  in,  192,  243,  301-10, 
347 

Assyria,  124,  169,  301 
Astronomy,  native,  167,  252 
Atahualpa,  162,  184 
Atlantis,  38,  44,  309,  336, 

341 

Australia,  304-8 

Axis,  change  of  earth’s,  337 

Aymaras,  46,  120,  169,  172 

Ayacucho,  173 

Aztecs,  18,  51,  97-117,  237 


Baalbek,  246 

Babylon,  39,  101,  123,  135,  169, 
243,  244,  248,  301,  302 
Balboa,  153 

Bancroft,  68,  71,  228,  237 
Behring  Strait,  43,  49,  69,  302 
Bharahat,  249 
Bingham,  Professor,  172 
Blavatsky,  Madame,  341 
Bolivia,  57,  169,  188,  234,  310 
Boro  Budur,  40,  299 
Brahma,  300 
Brahmins,  135 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  134, 
238,  342 
Brazil,  231 

Bridge,  Sir  Cyprian,  views  of, 
273,  282 

Bridges,  native,  163 
Brinton,  Dr.,  opinions,  38,  231, 
237-52 

British  Columbia,  50,  70,  244, 

3l8 

British  Honduras,  140 
Bronze  period,  69,  188 
Buddhists,  38,  40,  no,  244, 
248,  250,  340 

Cajamarca,  184 

Calendar,  Mexican,  97,  in,  243 


355 


356 


INDEX 


California,  50,  75 
Caroline  Islands,  280 
Cambodia,  294,  299,  305 
Casas  Grandes,  92 
Central  America,  56,  118-54 
Cerro  de  Pasco,  176 
Chaldea,  39,  171,  244,  253,  255 
Chan  Chan,  187,  228 
Chasm  Island,  306 
Chavin,  177 
Chiapas,  119 
Chicama  Valley,  187 
Chichen  Itza,  119,  135,  210,  286 
Chile,  50,  57, 188,  192,  215 
Chimus,  187,  190 
China,  Chinese  analogies,  39, 
42,46, 192,226,  234,  241,  253, 
293,  3oi,  303,  338 
Chiriqui,  151,  222 
Cholula,  106 
Choqquequirau,  173 
Christian,  F.  W.,  276 
Cliff  Dwellers,  the,  79-92,  244 
Coati,  172 

Codex,  Mexican,  96,  99,  124, 
148,  152 

Colombia,  57,  192 
Colonisation,  63 
Colorado,  79 
Colorado  River,  90 
Column,  use  of,  184,  108,  216 
Community  houses,  84,  216 
Copan,  96,  149,  152 
Cord-holders,  216 
Cortes,  97,  147 
Costa  Rica,  141,  151 
Couvarde,  323 
“ Cradle-lands,”  25,  38,  39 
Creation  myths,  148,  317 
Creator,  the  native  conception 
of,  117,  318,  174,  321 


Cross,  pre-Christian,  124,  349 
Cuvier,  247 

Cuzco,  53,  123,  164,  21 1 

Darwin,  312 
Delhi,  295 

Deluge  stories,  106,  113,  317, 
33i 

Destruction  of  buildings,  34, 172 

Earthquakes,  210 
Easter  Island,  31,  44,  95,  166, 
1 7h  257-66,  294 
Ecuador,  57,  153,  175,  192,  286 
Egypt,  39,  104,  105,  hi,  123, 
133,  I34-7>  182,  187,  228, 
244,  253,  255,  305,  326 
Enoch,  Book  of,  43,  333 
Eskimos,  65,  215,  231 
Evolution  of  architecture,  46 
Evolution  story,  native,  89,  148 

Fish  emblem,  171,  261,  262, 
277,  286 

Four,  sacred  number,  252 
Friendly  Islands,  279 
Funafuti,  312 

Geographical  similarity  of 
Asia  and  America,  23 
George  Grey,  Sir,  306 
Giants,  legends  of,  95,  106,  258 
Glacial  period,  45 
Gran  Chaco,  192,  326 
Grand  Trunk  Pacific  Railway, 
70 

Greece,  194,  243,  244,  248,  299 
“ Greek  ” pattern,  108,  145, 
194,  218,  244,  279 
Greenland,  75 
Guano,  197 

Guatemala,  141-50,  246 


INDEX 


357 


Hawaii.  See  Sandwich  Islands 
Henequen  fibre,  125 
Hieroglyphics,  m,  114,  124, 
145,  I52.  193,  226,  261,  264, 
Hindus,  234,  299 
Holmes,  Dr.,  44, 126 
Honduras,  150 
Huaitara,  173 
Huancanelica,  186 
Huanuco  Viejo,  100, 173, 181-3, 
209 

Huaraz,  176 
Huayna  Capac,  166 
Humboldt,  38,  113,  243,  247 
Hydah  Indians,  70,  72,  318 
Hydraulic  works,  early,  87,  90, 
116,138,  180,  187,  198,  212 

Idols,  Mexican,  102,  105 
Illimani,  312 
Inca  astronomy,  167 
Inca  doorways,  181 
Inca  laws,  195-206 
Inca  masonry,  165,  181,  188, 
208 

Inca  origin,  161 
Inca  population,  180 
Inca  pottery,  190 
Inca  roads,  162,  176,  215 
Inca-pre,  170,  177,  178,  191 
Incahuasi,  185 

Incas,  18,  120,  134,  137,  154- 
206, 283,  301 

India,  39,  46,  113,  139,  248, 
293,  295 
Intihuatana,  167 
Irrigation.  See  Hydraulics 
Iron,  use  of,  112,  188,  207 

Japan,  39,  234,  294,  301 
Java,  39,  248,  293,  299,  309 


Khmers,  299 

Kingsborough,  Lord,  41,  95, 
238,  342 
Korea,  37,  299 
Kublai  Khan,  41,  241,  303 

“ Land  Bridges,”  26,  76,  308 
Languages,  analogies  of,  235 
Lauricocha  Lake,  183 
Lehmann,  Dr.,  work  of,  141, 142 
Lele,  280,  289 

Le  Plongeon,  Dr.,  41,  133, 
342 

“ Lost  ten  tribes,”  38,  95,  247 

Maguey,  204,  340 
Malaysia,  26,  39,  268,  296-305 
Manco  Capac,  160,  255 
Maranon,  177,  183 
Marianas,  290 
Marquesas,  275 
Mastodon,  136 

Maudslay,  work  of,  141,  150, 

152 

Maya  “Arch,”  40,  122,  118, 
129 

Mayas,  18,  51,  96,  m,  118-54, 
175,  192,  210,  237,  243 
Melanesians,  274,  293 
Mesopotamia,  39,  253-6 
Metalanim,  281 

Metallurgy,  native,  188,  221, 
3*9 

Mexico,  53, 55,  93-139,  209-256 
“ Missing  Link,”  24,  25,  307 
Mitla,  107,  246 

Mongolian  origin,  67,  192,  231- 
56,  296,  299-303 
Monoliths,  transport  of,  108, 
144,  170,  211,  259,  281,  287 
Monte  Alban,  106 


358 


INDEX 


Mound-builders,  240 
Mummies,  103,  190 

Nahuatl  language,  99 
Nansen,  Dr.,  77 
Navigation,  early  American, 
41.  67,  73,  215,  241,254,  261, 
270,  293,  297,  338 
Nazca,  227 

Neolithic  man,  69,  282,  313, 
3i4 

New  Mexico,  79 
New  Zealand,  269,  295 
Nezahualcoyotl,  115 
Nicaragua,  141,  151,  245 
Noah,  95,  336 
Nootkas,  74 

Norse  explorations,  18,  29,  77 
Oceania,  274 

Ollantaytambo,  167,  182,  21 1 
Oppression  of  natives,  125 
Oroya  Railway,  176 
Otomies,  236 

Pachacamac,  185 
Pacific  coast,  50 
Palenque,  40,  96,  122-4,  2I3 
Panama,  54,  57,  71,  89,  151, 

153,  347 
Papantla,  107 
Papua,  268 
Patron,  Dr.,  253 
Perpetual  snow-line,  158 
Persia,  37,  91,  187,  228,  244, 
250,  299 

Peru,  57,  105,  155-206,  209- 
256,310 

Phallic  emblems,  263,  324 
Picture-writing,  97,  111,  114, 

152 


Pisco,  186,  227 
Pitcairn  Island,  274 
Polynesians,  44,  244,  262,  267 
Ponape,  280,  284 
Post,  early  American,  64,  97, 
242 

Pottery,  early  American,  105, 
190,  218 

Preservation  of  American  ruins, 
34 

Pueblos,  89,  212 
Pyramids  and  pyramid-build- 
ing. See  also  “ Teocallis,” 
36,  101,  104,  106,  120,  144, 
145,  148,  151,  216,  288 

Quechuas,  47, 160,  303 
Quetzalcoatl,  97 
Quiches,  53,  148,  237 
Quipos,  226 
Quirigua,  96,  143-52 
Quito,  175 
Quitos,  154 

Raimondi,  183 
Rubber,  125,  168 

Sacrificial  stone,  Mexican, 
101 

Sacsaihuaman,  164,  21 1 
Salvador,  141,  151 
Samoa,  269,  293,  295 
Sandwich  Islands,  269,  273,  295 
Sanscrit,  236,  295 
Scarabs,  326 

Serpent  emblem,  101,  102,  131, 
178 

Siberia,  37,  66,  69 
Socialism,  Inca,  195-206 
Solstices,  determination  of,  167 
Stein,  Dr.  Aurel,  304 


INDEX 


359 


Stelas  of  Guatemala,  144 
Stevenson,  R.  L.,  278 
Subsidence  theory,  313 
Sun  dance,  68 

Sun  worship,  20,  104,  161,  173, 
202,  318 

Sunken  lands,  27,  44,  281,  292 
Swastika,  91,  248-52 

Tacna,  193 
Tahiti,  226,  275,  294 
Tartary,  38,  235 
Tasmania,  296 
Tehuantepec,  no 
“Tennis-courts,”  Mexican,  121, 
133 

Teocallis,  101, 107 
Teotihuacan,  104,  286 
Terrace-building.  See  also  An- 
denes,  106,  116 
Textile  arts,  75,  219,  224 
Theosophy,  341 
Tiahuanaco,  169,  211,  213,  246, 
262 

Tibet,  37,  155,  226,  234,  243, 
299,  303 
Timon,  295 

Titicaca,  Lake,  164,  255 
Toltecs,  18,  51,  88,  96,  114,  286 
Tonga  Island,  279 
Tower  of  Babel  tradition,  95, 
106 

Travel,  conditions  of,  54 


Trujillo,  187 
Tupac  Yupanqui,  154 

“ Unknown  God,”  21, 116,  174, 
271 

Utah,  79 
Uxmal,  126,  210 

Vancouver,  74 

Veddahs  of  Ceylon,  294,  304 

Vermilion,  186,  219 

Viracocha,  171 

Virchow,  67,  231,  247 

Wallace,  Dr.  A.  W.,  opinions, 
38,  44,  77,  262,  269,  294,  301, 
304 

War  god,  Mexican,  101 
Wheat,  207 
Wheel,  207 

XOCHICHALCO,  107 

Yale  expedition  to  Peru,  173 
Yap  Island,  282 
Yucatan,  40,  45,  1x9-39,  234 
Yucay  Valley,  166 

Zacatecas,  92 
Zapotecs,  107,  118 
Zodiac,  1x3,  243 
Zuni  Indians,  89 


/ 


Ubc  ©resbam  ipresa, 

UNWIN  BROTHERS,  LIMITED, 


WOKING  AND  LONDON. 


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